Tatum custom ramus frame implant: multiple options including treatment for combination syndrome

The advantages offered by the Tatum custom ramus frame include its extended posterior arms, its ability to form a solid interface, and its availability in numerous sizes. It has solved some of the problems associated with the earlier models of the ramus frame. It offers stable support for a removable prosthesis in the completely edentulous mandible. In cases of combination syndrome, where a hopeless anterior dentition must be removed, a ramus frame can be placed immediately into the extraction sites. In a severely atrophied alveolar ridge, bone augmentation can be performed simultaneously with the ramus frame placement surgery. This implant device can, moreover, restore the patient's stomatognathic system to comfort, function, and pleasing esthetics quickly and economically. Furthermore, statistics show a 97% survival rate over 18 years (Tatum, 1992). Although the surgical procedure for the custom ramus frame is more complex than that for root-form and some subperiosteal procedures, and patients must be carefully selected, the custom ramus frame provides improved strength and load resistance.