Horizontal osteotomy for reconstruction of the narrow edentulous mandible

The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the applicability of a horizontal osteotomy procedure for reconstruction of a narrow edentulous mandible in order to enable insertion of implants. In 7 edentulous patients a narrow inferior alveolar ridge was reconstructed with autogenous bone grafts harvested by a horizontal osteotomy procedure (mean width of the top of the alveolar crest before grafting 1.3 +/- 0.3 mm, after grafting 5.6 +/- 0.6 mm). Insertion of endosseous implants (10 Brånemark implants, 8 ITI Bonefit implants) was performed 3 months after the grafting procedure. Implant supported overdentures were fabricated 3 months after implantation. At regular time intervals a standardized clinical and a radiographic evaluation was performed. All grafted sites showed sufficient bone volume for insertion of the implants at the moment of implantation. At time of evaluation (mean 37 +/- 14.6 months, range 14-68 months) all implants and overdentures functioned well. None of the patients showed a disturbed sensitivity of the lip or chin region. It is concluded that reconstruction of a narrow edentulous mandible with autogenous bone grafts harvested by an intraoral horizontal osteotomy was shown to be a reliable preimplantology procedure with potential applicability in this group of patients.