Treatment of a microvascular reconstructed mandible using an implant-supported overdenture: case report

Oral rehabilitation of patients with mandibular discontinuity defects is a challenging problem facing both the surgeon and the dentist. Advances in microvascular surgery have provided the surgeon with methods to repair the partially resected mandible with vital bone grafts. Often, however, reconstruction of the bony defect alone does not guarantee an adequate foundation for successful conventional prosthetic rehabilitation. Osseointegrated implants placed into the microvascularized grafted bone offer an opportunity for improved function and patient satisfaction. The following case presentation reports the use of an implant-supported overdenture in a vascularized iliac bone graft to reconstruct a partially resected mandible.