Alveolar sandwich osteotomy in resorbed alveolar ridge for dental implants: a 4-year prospective study

To answer whether severe vertical alveolar defects can be resolved using the sandwich osteotomy technique with xenograft material as filler and to evaluate the predictability of this procedure.

Ten graft sites (5 mandibular and 5 maxillary) in 9 patients treated at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hadassah Medical Center, were included in the present study. The patients underwent vertical bone augmentation using the sandwich osteotomy technique filled with xenograft material. The degree of bone augmentation was analyzed clinically at surgery and 4 to 6 months later from the computed tomography images taken just before the sites had been rehabilitated using dental implant insertion. A trephine histologic analysis was performed during implantation at 1 maxillary site.

The mean vertical bone gain in the interval between the sandwich osteotomy and implementation was 6 mm (range 4 to 10), and it remained stable after 4 to 6 months. In 2 cases, additional horizontal bone augmentation was needed. All graft sites were rehabilitated using dental implants with satisfactory results. In 3 cases, gingival porcelain was required for the final prosthesis. Histologic examination revealed vital segmentized bone and remodeling of the filled gap.

The interpositional alveolar bone graft using xenograft filler appears to be a viable and predictable alternative to block grafting or guided bone regeneration, resulting in good final results, with substantial vertical bone gain, even for challenging cases.