Introduction: Functional and aesthetic restoration of maxillary defects caused by progressive bone resorption, are still a challenge for the Surgeon.

The surgery includes the reconstruction of the alveolar ridge, facial contour and the rehabilitation of the dental occlusion by using implants.

Although method selection depends on the extent of the bone defect, it seems that there is no consensus or an accepted recommendation; hence, various techniques for the reconstruction of the atrophic maxilla with extraoral bone grafts have been reported. However, most of said techniques have been used without specific criteria and, in cases, allowing only limited dental rehabilitation.

In addition, various classifications of bone quality and bone loss in the three dimensional planes are already used, none of them correlates the bone defect with an specific technique to be used.

Purpose: To present a new classification of the atrophic maxilla with the use of extraoral bone graft, correlating the position of the maxilla and the bone loss with an specific surgical reconstruction technique.

Patients and methods: 46 patients underwent different types of reconstruction procedure, all based on this algorithm. The following period was at least for two years, and to the data, all of them wear types of full fixed prosthetic reconstruction, over dentures or hybrid-type prostheses.

Results: 358 implants were installed, 23 of them were loss. Few or none complications were seen, minor complications were seen on 25% of the patients.

Conclusion: We present a simplified and innovative classification of atrophic maxillas with the corresponding reconstruction technique.

Conflict of interest: None declared.