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Effect of the osteotome technique in cases of deficient edentulous ridge
Peter Rammelsberg1, Olaf Gabbert, Marc Schmitter
1Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Purpose:
The use of dental implants may be limited by lack of sufficient bone. The effectiveness of the alveolar ridge bone-spreading technique in the maxilla was compared with the standard technique. Bone spreading is a technique in which hand osteotomes are used to progressively enlarge the remaining deficient edentulous ridge to enable placement of dental implants.
Materials And Methods:
In the test group (bone spreading), 72 patients received 126 implants. Thirty-six patients with 63 implants placed with conventional implant preparation served as a control group. Measurements of outcome were implant failure and complications after therapy. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to depict time from implant placement to implant failure or complication.
Results:
Six complications were observed after placement of the implants (3 implant failures, peri-implant inflammation in 2 implants, and 1 exposure of rough implant surface). There was a trend toward more implant failures in the control group.
Conclusions:
Results of the ridge-spreading technique seem to be similar to those of the standard technique. However, these results should be regarded with caution because of the small number of complications.