Objectives: The 1st Global Consensus for Clinical Guidelines (GCCG) in Implant Dentistry introduced an evidence-based, patient-centered framework for rehabilitating the edentulous maxilla. Working Group 3 aimed to develop clinical recommendations on advanced diagnostic imaging, soft and hard tissue augmentation, and management of complications.
Materials and methods: Recommendations were developed following the S2k-level guideline framework of the AWMF and a structured nominal group technique. The evidence base included two systematic reviews on clinician-reported outcomes (ClinROs) and patient-reported outcomes (PROs), supplemented by single-round international surveys of expert clinicians, patients, and cross-disciplinary experts. Survey content addressed diagnostics, treatment planning, clinical procedures, and maintenance care. Draft recommendations were discussed at the in-person consensus meeting in Boston (June 16-18, 2025) and finalized through anonymous plenary voting. Consensus thresholds were predefined as ≥ 75% but ≤ 95% agreement for consensus and > 95% agreement for strong consensus.
Results: Working Group 3 formulated four clinical recommendations spanning advanced diagnostic imaging, augmentation techniques, and complication management. All four recommendations reached consensus. Voting participation per recommendation ranged from 68 to 88 (mean 79) out of a possible 105 participants.
Conclusions: The Working Group 3 consensus statements offer practical guidance on surgical procedures and complication management in the rehabilitation of the edentulous maxilla. These recommendations are grounded in current evidence, interdisciplinary clinical practice, and patient perspectives. Furthermore, important evidence gaps, particularly in standardized patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), long-term outcomes, and maintenance protocols, highlight key priorities for future clinical research.
Objectives: The 1st Global Consensus for Clinical Guidelines (GCCG) in Implant Dentistry introduced an innovative, evidence-based approach to developing patient-centered and practical recommendations for the rehabilitation of the edentulous maxilla. Within this framework, Group 1 aimed to formulate clinical recommendations on the number of implants required, timing of implant placement, and timing of loading.
Materials and methods: Group 1 followed the S2k-level guideline framework of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF), using a structured nominal group technique. The evidence base included three systematic reviews evaluating clinician-reported outcomes (ClinROs) and patient-reported outcomes (PROs), supplemented by structured single-round international surveys involving expert clinicians, patients, and cross-disciplinary experts. Survey content covered diagnostics, treatment planning, clinical procedures, and maintenance care. Draft recommendations were discussed during the in-person consensus meeting in Boston (June 16-18, 2025) and finalized through anonymous plenary voting. Consensus was defined as ≥ 75% and ≤ 95% agreement and strong consensus as > 95% agreement.
Results: Group 1 formulated 12 clinical recommendations across the workflow domains of diagnostic tools, treatment planning, and treatment procedure. During plenary voting, three of these recommendations reached strong consensus, and nine achieved consensus. The number of voters per recommendation ranged from 61 to 90, with an average of 83.
Conclusions: This consensus report provides structured, evidence-based recommendations on implant number, placement timing, and loading protocols for rehabilitation of the edentulous maxilla. These guidelines are intended to support individualized, patient-centered care while also identifying priority areas for future research.
Objectives: This single-round survey on prosthodontic rehabilitation of the edentulous maxilla is one of four clinician surveys commissioned prior to the first Global Consensus for Clinical Guidelines (GCCG). Within the GCCG aim of refining treatment protocols and enhancing patient care, this survey gathered expert insights into best practices, challenges, and treatment outcomes for these complex restorative procedures.
Materials and methods: The 25-item survey was sent to 230 identified experts from 41 countries in October 2024. Participation in the survey was voluntary and without incentives. Informed consent was obtained at the beginning of the survey. All data were collected, stored, and processed anonymously.
Results: Of the 230 experts contacted, 123 accessed the survey and 121 provided consent and completed the questionnaire, resulting in a response rate of 52.6%. The survey responses identified 13 statements that reached consensus (> 75% but ≤ 95% agreement) and five that reached strong consensus (> 95% agreement). These 18 statements were derived from 6 items addressing the topics of anatomical landmarks for tooth positioning, preferred distal implant position, preferred minimum implant diameter, preferred retention method, relevant patient-reported outcomes, and relevant clinician-reported outcomes.
Conclusion: This study gathered valuable expert insights to inform a consensus development process for establishing clinical practice guidelines for management of the edentulous maxilla. The survey identified 18 statements from six items that reached consensus or strong consensus among survey respondents. The items not achieving consensus served to reflect real-world implant treatment strategies, identify literature gaps, and highlight any inconsistencies between expert consensus and current evidence.
Objectives: This systematic review aimed to evaluate both patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and clinician-reported outcomes (ClinROs) and their outcome measures (PROMs and CROMs), related to the number of implants used for an implant-supported full arch fixed dental prosthesis (IFADPs) in the edentulous maxilla.
Materials and methods: Literature search was conducted in five electronic databases from January 2014 to June 2024. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective clinical studies reporting the number of implants, PROs, ClinROs, PROMs, and CROMs were included. Screening, data extraction, and reporting followed the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess RCTs; ROBINS-I tool was used for non-RCTs.
Results: Out of 1466 articles, 31 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility; 11 were included. The studies reported PROs such as oral health-related quality of life, satisfaction, postoperative symptoms, and comfort. These were assessed using various tools, including Oral Health Impact Profile questionnaires and visual or verbal rating scales. ClinROs included surgical time, implant survival, insertion torque, complications, and marginal bone loss. These were measured through clinical examinations, radiographic assessments, and standard indices. RCTs showed low to high risk of bias, and prospective studies demonstrated a moderate-to-serious risk of bias.
Conclusions: High implant and prosthesis survival rates, enhanced quality of life, mild postoperative symptoms, and increased patient satisfaction indicate favorable outcomes for IFADPs in the edentulous maxilla. However, evidence linking the PROs and ClinROs in relation to the number of implants used for IFADPs in the edentulous maxilla remains limited.
Objectives: The 1st Global Consensus for Clinical Guidelines (GCCG) in Implant Dentistry introduced an innovative, evidence-based approach to developing patient-centered and practical recommendations for the rehabilitation of the edentulous maxilla. Within this framework, Group 2 aimed to formulate clinical recommendations on the use of short, standard-length, and zygomatic implants in atrophic maxillae.
Materials and methods: Group 2 followed the S2k-level guideline framework of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF), applying a structured nominal group technique. The evidence base included two systematic reviews synthesizing patient-reported outcomes (PROs), clinician-reported outcomes (ClinROs), and their respective measures, as well as single-round international surveys involving expert clinicians, patients, and cross-disciplinary experts. Draft recommendations were discussed during the in-person consensus meeting in Boston (June 16-18, 2025) and finalized through anonymous plenary voting. Consensus thresholds were predefined at ≥ 75% and ≤ 95% agreement for consensus and > 95% agreement for strong consensus.
Results: The Group 2 participants formulated 6 clinical recommendations addressing the domains patient selection, surgical treatment options (short, standard-length, and zygomatic implants), and treatment planning. All 6 recommendations reached consensus.
Conclusions: The Group 2 consensus provides practical guidance for the use of short, standard-length, and zygomatic implants in atrophic maxillae, balancing surgical complexity, prosthetic feasibility, and patient-centered care. Remaining evidence gaps-especially regarding standardized outcome sets, loading protocols, prosthetic strategies for zygomatic implants, the use of short implants for full-arch restorations and maintenance frameworks-should be prioritized in future research.
Objectives: The 1st Global Consensus for Clinical Guidelines (GCCG) in Implant Dentistry introduced an innovative, evidence-based, patient-centred approach to developing practical recommendations for the rehabilitation of the edentulous maxilla. Within this framework, Group 4 focused on formulating clinical recommendations for the planning and delivery of conventional dentures (CD), implant overdentures (IOD) and implant-supported fixed complete dentures (IFCD) for patients with an edentulous maxilla.
Materials and methods: Group 4 followed the S2k-level guideline framework of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF), applying a structured nominal group technique. The evidence base included two systematic reviews synthesising patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and clinician-reported outcomes (ClinROs) and their respective measures in patients with an edentulous maxilla. In addition, single-round international surveys were conducted involving expert clinicians, patients and cross-disciplinary experts. Draft recommendations were developed during the in-person consensus meeting in Boston (June 16-18, 2025) and finalised through anonymous plenary voting. Consensus thresholds were predefined at ≥ 75% and ≤ 95% agreement for a consensus and > 95% agreement for a strong consensus.
Results: Group 4 participants formulated 14 clinical recommendations covering five stages of treatment: (i) patient selection, (ii) diagnostics, (iii) treatment planning, (iv) treatment procedures and (v) maintenance. During plenary voting, 6 recommendations reached consensus and eight achieved strong consensus. Voting participation per recommendation ranged from 60 to 84 participants (mean 75).
Conclusions: Group 4 consensus statements provide structured guidance on the use of removable and fixed implant-supported dental prostheses for the rehabilitation of the edentulous maxilla. The recommendations reflect current evidence, expert opinion on clinical practice across disciplines and patient perspectives. Key evidence gaps-especially regarding standardised PROMs, long-term outcomes and maintenance protocols-identify priorities for future clinical research.
Objectives: To evaluate the current patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and clinician-reported outcomes (ClinROs) following sinus floor elevation (SFE) for implant-based rehabilitation in the fully edentulous maxilla.
Methods: A systematic search was conducted across PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, covering publications from 2013 to 2024. We included prospective studies assessing PROMs and ClinROs. The COSMIN checklist was used to evaluate PROMs quality.
Results: Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, and case series. Fourteen distinct ClinROs were identified, predominantly implant survival (61.11%) and peri-implant bone-level changes (50%). Conversely, ClinROs directly associated with SFE procedures-such as maxillary sinus bone height/volume changes (27.7%) and sinus membrane perforation (10.5%)-were underreported. Prosthetic outcomes were addressed in 11.11% of studies, and PROMs in 50% of the studies. Seven different PROMs were identified, with a focus on masticatory function and overall satisfaction. COSMIN analysis revealed that OHIP-49 and the denture satisfaction questionnaire (DSQ) were the most robust PROMs, scoring "very good" across multiple domains. Patients' overall satisfaction and complaint-based PROMs lacked validation.
Conclusions: Current reporting of ClinROs emphasizes implant-related metrics, while outcomes directly related to SFE are inconsistently reported. Validated PROMs are needed to ensure consistency and reliability in outcome assessment. OHIP-49 and DSQ demonstrated strong psychometric properties and are recommended as core PROMs. Future studies should incorporate early and long-term PROMs and adopt a standardized approach to outcome reporting.

