Prospective tomographic evaluation of autogenous bone resorption harvested from mandibular ramus in atrophic maxilla

Autogenous bone is considered the criterion standard for grafting procedures of severely resorbed alveolar ridges. However, the rate of autogenous graft resorption remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mandibular graft resorption with cone beam computed tomography after 10 and 180 days of augmentation procedures in the atrophic maxilla. Twenty-two patients received 36 autogenous bone grafts harvested from the mandibular ramus. Tomographical evaluations were carried out after 10 (T1) and 180 (T2) days of augmentation procedures to obtain bone grafts area measurements. After 10 days postoperatively (T1), the mean area of bone graft was 81.38 mm (range, 46.33-113.73 mm), whereas, after 180 days postoperatively (T2), the mean area of bone graft was 66.13 mm (range, 33.51-101.93 mm). The mean percentage variation of graft resorption between T1 and T2 was 18.38%. Autogenous bone blocks harvested from the mandibular ramus presented a reduction of 18.38% in the measurement areas after the augmentation procedures in the atrophic maxilla. Therefore, the use of autogenous bone blocks remains as a viable and predictable procedure for the rehabilitation of the atrophic maxillae. Thus, other studies must be carried out to improve the knowledge on the bone graft resorption, which may serve as a basis for the development of more effective strategies for the rehabilitation of patients with an atrophic maxilla.