Objectives: To report the clinical and radiographic outcomes of patients presenting with edentulous and atrophic ridges and treated with autogenous mandibular bone blocks and rehabilitated with implant-supported prostheses.
Materials and methods: From 1997 to 2015, 75 patients presenting with bone defects of the jaws were grafted with autogenous mandibular bone blocks. One-hundred eighty-two implants were placed 4 to 12 months later and loaded 3 to 10 months later: the mean follow-up was 10 years (range: 3-16 years). The following outcomes were recorded: (a) complication rate of the reconstructive procedure; (b) bone graft resorption before implant placement; (c) peri-implant bone resorption; (d) implant-related complications; and (e) implant survival and success rates.
Results: Postoperative recovery was uneventful in the majority of patients. An early dehiscence occurred in three patients, but with no significant bone loss, while 3 experienced temporary paraesthesia. The mean vertical and horizontal bone resorption before implant placement was 0.18 mm (standard deviation [SD] = 0.43) and 0.15 mm (SD = 0.42), respectively. The mean peri-implant bone loss ± standard deviation was 1.06 ± 1.19 (range: 0.00-5.05) at patient level and 1.11 ± 1.26 (range: 0.00-5.20) at implant level. Two implants in 2 patients lost integration and were removed; 10 implants in 7 patients developed peri-implantitis, but healed after surgical treatment. The cumulative implant survival and success rates were 98.11% and 85.16%, respectively.
Conclusion: Implants placed in areas reconstructed with mandibular bone blocks presented survival rates consistent with those obtained for implants placed in native bone.
Keywords: bone atrophy; bone graft; dental implants; dental prosthesis; mandibular ramus; patient satisfaction.
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.