Background: Alveolar atrophy following tooth loss is a common limitation of rehabilitation with dental implant born prostheses. Ridge splitting is a well-documented surgical method to restore the width of the alveolar ridge prior to implant placement. The aim of this case series is to present a novel approach to ridge expansion using only autogenous bone blocks. Methods: Patients with Kennedy Class I. and II. mandibles with insufficient bone width were included in this study. Ridge splitting was carried out with the use of a piezoelectric surgery device by preparing osteotomies and after mobilization of the buccal cortical by placing an autologous bone block harvested from the retromolar region as a spacer between the buccal and lingual cortical plates. Block-grafts were stabilized by osteosynthesis screws. Implant placement was carried out after a 3-month healing period. A total of 13 implants were placed in seven augmented sites of six patients.
Results: Upon re-entry, all sites healed uneventfully. Mean ridge width gain was 2.86 mm, range: 2.0-5.0 mm.
Conclusions: Clinical results of our study show that the modified ridge splitting technique is a safe and predictable method to restore width of the alveolar ridge prior to implant placement.
Keywords: alveolar bone loss; bone transplantation; dental implantation; mandibular ridge augmentation; piezo surgery.