Prosthodontic closure of palatal fistula with osseointegrated implants and onlay bone grafts--case report.

A case treated with onlay bone grafting and simultaneous osseointegrated implant insertion is reported. The patient had an oronasal fistula in the center of the premaxillary region due to failed repair of a bilateral cleft palate. Four fixtures were inserted with onlay bone grafting of the maxillary alveolar ridge. Twelve months postsurgery, one fixture was lost as a result of severe bone resorption around the fixture, but three fixtures integrated strongly. We constructed an overdenture stabilized with ball attachments connected to the implants 13 months after the first operation. Speech and masticatory function improved remarkably with closure of the fistula and good fixation of the denture.