Alveolar distraction before implantation: a report of five cases and a review of the literature.

This work describes the author's experience with the treatment of alveolar vertical bone atrophy using the distraction osteogenesis technique. Five patients with localized vertical atrophy of the alveolar ridge (loss of one to four teeth) were treated using two different types of distractor devices. All the patients were operated on under local anesthesia without needing hospitalization. The surgical technique used in one of these cases and the results of all of the cases treated are reported in this study. Distraction osteogenesis may be a valid alternative to guided bone regeneration in selected cases for the treatment of vertical atrophy of the alveolar ridge, with a substantial reduction in implantation time.