[Inferior alveolar nerve repositioning in implant surgery]

Severe resorption of the posterior mandible possesses one of the most difficult restorative challenges to the implant surgery today. This resorption may prevent the placement of dental implants without the potentially damage to the inferior alveolar nerve. To create the opportunity of insertion dental implants of adequately length in those cases, the technique of nerve repositioning has been advocated. The purpose of this article is to describe two cases of nerve repositioning combined with placement of dental implants. Both cases showed appropriate postoperative healing without damage to the inferior alveolar nerve. The inferior alveolar nerve repositioning technique seems to be an acceptable alternative to augmentation procedure prior to dental implants placement in cases exhibiting atrophic posterior mandibular ridges.