Dr. Aykut Gürel

Dr. Aykut Gürel is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon who has made zygomatic implants the centre of his career. He qualified in dentistry at Istanbul University and completed his specialist training in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at Marmara University, where his specialty thesis compared the accuracy of zygomatic implants placed freehand with those placed using computer-assisted guided methods. Today he plans every zygomatic case digitally and, where the anatomy suits it, places the implants through a patient-specific titanium surgical guide, a protocol still uncommon in Turkey. He treats patients in Turkish and English.

Professional & Academic Snapshot

Why we trust him with our most difficult cases

Zygomatic implants are the treatment patients reach when they have been told there is not enough bone left. It is also the implant surgery where the margin for error is smallest. When we looked for the surgeon to lead these cases, Dr. Gürel was our first choice, for reasons you can check.

• He has studied the exact problem that makes this surgery risky. A zygomatic implant is 30–55 mm long and travels past the sinus towards the eye socket to anchor in the cheekbone. His specialty thesis measured how far zygomatic implants drift from their planned path when placed freehand compared with computer-assisted methods. He did not just learn this surgery; he researched its central risk.
• He operates with guided protocols most clinics in Turkey do not use. Where the anatomy suits it, he places zygomatic implants through a patient-specific titanium guide that fixes each drill’s path and depth to the digital plan. Guided zygomatic surgery has been developed and studied at university centres in Europe, the US and Asia; in Turkey it is still the exception.
• He uses a system built for that protocol. For zygomatic cases he works with JDZygoma implants and the Z-GO Guide™ system from JDentalCare, an Italian implant maker in Modena whose patented guide was designed specifically for guided zygomatic surgery.
• He builds the guides, not just the plans. He founded TrueLine Surgical Solutions, a venture that designs and manufactures patient-specific surgical guides, so he understands the tool from the software to the finished titanium.
• He is a surgeon first. He is a specialist oral and maxillofacial surgeon, with residency rotations in emergency medicine, anaesthesiology, plastic and reconstructive surgery and ENT at Marmara University. That training matters when surgery is close to the sinus and the orbit.
• He is careful with promises. He tells patients plainly that a guide is chosen case by case and that no implant comes with a lifetime guarantee. We think that honesty is one of the best signs of a surgeon you can trust.

Guided zygomatic surgery: how his technique works

Most zygomatic implants are still placed freehand: the surgeon aims a long drill by eye and experience through a narrow window of bone. Because the implant is so long, a small wobble at the entry point becomes a much larger error at the tip, inside the cheekbone and close to the eye socket. Guided surgery transfers a plan made on your 3D scan into your mouth, so each drill follows the path that was planned.

Step by step

1. 3D scan and assessment. A CBCT scan shows the upper jaw, the sinuses and both cheekbones in three dimensions. Dr. Gürel assesses whether you are a candidate for zygomatic implants and whether a guide suits your anatomy.
2. Virtual surgery. In planning software he places each implant on screen: where it emerges in the mouth for the final teeth, the angle it travels past the sinus, and where it anchors in the cheekbone. The implant length is chosen in this step so that it engages the strongest part of the zygoma without going further than needed.
3. A guide made for one patient. From that plan a surgical guide is designed for your bone alone and manufactured in medical-grade titanium by 3D laser printing. It rests directly on your jawbone and is fixed in place during surgery.
4. Fully guided drilling. Dedicated Z-GO Guide™ drills pass through the guide, which holds each one on the planned path and to the planned depth. The implant is then inserted along the same route.
5. Teeth on top. Zygomatic implants are usually combined with conventional implants at the front of the jaw to support a full-arch bridge. Fixed temporary teeth on the day of surgery are fitted when implant stability and the prosthetic plan allow it.

The system he uses

For zygomatic cases Dr. Gürel works with JDZygoma implants and the Z-GO Guide™ system from JDentalCare, an implant manufacturer founded in 2006 in Modena, Italy. Z-GO Guide™ combines three parts: zygomatic planning modules in JD’s guided-surgery software (powered by Real Guide™), a patented bone-supported titanium guide made by JDLab, and a dedicated drill kit for fully guided placement. JDZygoma implants have FDA 510(k) clearance (K240143).

What the evidence says about accuracy

A 2023 systematic review in the Journal of Clinical Medicine pooled 14 studies and 511 zygomatic implants, comparing how far each implant ended up from its plan (Fan et al., 2023):

In these studies, surgical guides placed the implant tip about 1.4 mm closer to plan on average than freehand placement. A guide improves precision; it does not replace the surgeon’s judgement, which is why Dr. Gürel decides case by case whether to use one.

Education

His specialty thesis

• Title: In Vitro Comparison of the Accuracy of Zygomatic Implants Placed on Maxillary Models Using Freehand and Computer-Assisted Methods.
• What it asked: how closely zygomatic implants end up to their digital plan when placed by hand compared with computer-assisted guidance.
• Why it matters for you: it is the academic basis for the way he operates today, planning on 3D scans and using guides where the anatomy allows.

Surgical rotations during residency

Further training

Clinical and professional roles

Zygomatic surgery under general anaesthesia is performed in Acıbadem Altunizade Hospital or Medicana Çamlıca Hospital.

Treatments

Below we list all treatments Dr. Aykut Gürel can help you with.

1. Zygomatic and severe bone-loss cases

• Zygomatic implants for severely resorbed upper jaws, with fully guided placement where suitable
• Hybrid zygoma: two zygomatic implants combined with conventional implants at the front of the jaw
• Quad zygoma: four zygomatic implants when there is almost no usable upper-jaw bone
• Patients whose previous implants, bone grafts or sinus lifts have failed
• Patients who have worn removable dentures for many years

2. Implants and full-mouth reconstruction

• Single and multiple dental implants
• All-on-4, All-on-6 and full-mouth dental implants in Turkey
• Computer-guided, flapless implant surgery planned on 3D CBCT scans
• Immediate (same-day) implants, where stability allows
• Sinus lift and bone grafting
• Implant-supported dentures

3. Oral and jaw surgery

• Impacted wisdom teeth and complex extractions
• Jaw cysts
• Corrective jaw surgery
• Surgery under general anaesthesia or deep sedation

Research

One thread runs through everything he does: making zygomatic surgery more predictable by moving it from freehand to planned, guided placement. He studied it in his thesis, builds guides through his own company, and applies it in surgery.

Research topics: zygomatic implants · computer-assisted implant surgery · surgical guide accuracy · digital surgical planning