Augmentation of the narrow traumatized anterior alveolar ridge to facilitate dental implant placement.

Traumatic tooth loss leads to alveolar resorption especially in sagittal direction. This can be due to avulsion of bone substance during the accident itself or due to resorption of the alveolar crest that takes place afterwards. Shortage of bone can prevent proper positioning of dental implants unless the volume of bone is increased before implantation. In the maxillary anterior area, this is also an esthetic problem. Several treatment modalities have been presented to augment the bone. This report reviews the latest literature on bone grafting, bone substitutes, guided bone regeneration, osteocompression and distraction which are potentially useful in the anterior maxilla. A special emphasis is paid to the versatility of using a crestal split osteotomy, by means of chisels and osteotomes to widen the narrow ridge. Three examples are illustrated showing onlay grafting, preservation of alveolar width with alloplastic coral material and lateral widening of a narrow maxillary alveolar ridge, using the crestal splitting technique.