Management of deficient anterior maxillary alveolus with mandibular parasymphyseal bone graft for implants

This paper discusses the use of autogenous bone graft from the symphyseal region of the mandible to widen the deficient anterior maxilla. Compressing short or narrow implants into deficient ridges is a poor technique that often fails to correctly replace ridge anatomy or afford stable restorations. Patients who were missing a maxillary incisor, and exhibiting a loss of supporting bone in the area, were found suitable for this technique. Ten patients were included in the study. In the anterior maxilla, the thin cortices can be split, and a corticocancellous bone graft from the mandibular symphyseal region can be positioned on the labial-buccal cortex. This surgical procedure enables implant placement in previously deficient bone within the maxilla. In comparison with other techniques, the use of a mandibular symphysis graft technique offers ease of access, good bone quantity for localized repair, a corticocancellous block graft morphology, low morbidity, decreased complaints of postoperative sensory disturbances and discomfort, and minimal graft resorption. An improved bone density results along with a shorter healing time as compared with other methods for bone repair. A success rate of 81.2% was obtained after a mean follow-up period of 3 years.