Alveolar distraction: analysis of 10 cases

Area of Science:

• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Regenerative Medicine
• Dental Implantology

Background:

• Alveolar ridge deficiencies pose challenges for dental implant placement.
• Alveolar distraction osteogenesis offers a method for bone augmentation.
• Understanding complication rates and outcomes is crucial for treatment planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess intraoperative and postoperative complications associated with alveolar distraction.
• To evaluate the outcomes of alveolar distraction osteogenesis in patients with alveolar ridge deficiencies.

Main Methods:

• Ten patients with alveolar ridge deficiencies underwent alveolar distraction osteogenesis using intraosseous distractors.
• Deficiencies resulted from various causes including atrophy, tumor resection, trauma, and oligodontia.
• Follow-up averaged 1.8 years.

Main Results:

• A mean distraction of 8.7 mm was achieved across 10 cases.
• Complications included displacement of the distracted segment (n=5), fracture in thin bone (n=1), and intraoperative bleeding (n=1).
• The overall complication rate was 70%.

Conclusions:

• Alveolar distraction osteogenesis is a viable technique for alveolar ridge augmentation.
• Most complications were minor and manageable.
• A high implant success rate of 85% was observed post-distraction.