Clinical evaluation of a modified method of vestibuloplasty using an implant-retained splint

Oral rehabilitation of resected tumor patients often requires, besides the use of dental implants, the improvement of the soft tissue condition. In this clinical report, we describe a simple and effective surgical and prosthetic treatment procedure to achieve adequate long-term soft tissue conditions.

Seventeen tumor patients were selected for this evaluation. A total of 68 implants were placed in the mandible. At implant placement, a closed impression was taken from the implants for the fabrication of an implant-retained surgical splint. At second-stage surgery, vestibuloplasty by use of a split-thickness skin graft from the upper thigh was performed and an implant-retained splint was positioned. Pocket depths at the implants and the size of the graft were monitored over a period of 2 years. Statistical analysis by use of nonparametric 2-factorial analyses for repeated measures was performed.

The mean mesial and distal pocket depths remained stable and measured 2.56 mm and 2.64 mm, respectively, at 24 months postoperatively. The graft showed an overall shrinkage of 18.5% in the vertical direction and 10.4% in the horizontal direction after 24 months. The shrinkage of the vertical direction compared with the horizontal direction showed a significant difference (P= .035). The shrinkage tendency was less than that described in the literature.

The applied method described an easy, sufficient surgical procedure that minimizes shrinkage and creates a denture-bearing area that is stable over the long term, thus representing an improvement over previous methods.