Mandibular bone graft in the anterior maxilla for single-tooth implants. Presentation of surgical method.

Nine patients with 10 implants were included in the study. A bone graft from the symphyseal region of the mandible was used to augment the ridge 4 months before implant insertion. All implant sites showed a sufficient amount of bone at the time of implant insertion. One implant was not integrated at the time of abutment connection. Bone resorption after augmentation was assessed by measurements of the width of the alveolar ridge at four different levels. The measurements were performed before and after the bone-grafting procedure, at implant insertion and at abutment connection. The bone resorption in the buccal/palatal direction was 60% when measured from the time of bone grafting to abutment connection. The bone resorption was already obvious after 4 months (25%). The results indicate that the described bone grafting technique is applicable in patients with a narrow alveolar ridge, even though the resorption of the graft was extensive.