Sandwich osteotomy of the atrophic posterior mandible with interpositional autogenous bone block graft compared with...

The objective of the present systematic review was to test the hypothesis that there were no differences in outcome of implant treatment after sandwich osteotomy in the atrophic posterior mandible with interpositional autogenous bone block graft, compared with bone substitute material. A MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library search in combination with hand-search of selected journals was conducted. Two short-term randomised controlled trials with a split-mouth study design and low risk of bias fulfilled the inclusion criteria. High survival rate of suprastructures and implants was disclosed with no significant difference between interpositional autogenous bone block graft compared with bone substitute material. Meta-analysis revealed patient-based implant survival risk ratio of 1.05 (95% CI: 0.88 to 1.25) and peri-implant marginal bone loss of 0.31mm (95% CI: -0.29 to 0.90) indicating no significant differences between the two treatments. High implant stability values, gain in vertical alveolar ridge height, bone formation, and few complications were reported with both treatments. Sandwich osteotomy with interpositional grafting material appears to be a predictable surgical technique for enhancement of the vertical alveolar ridge height in the atrophic posterior mandible prior to implant placement.