Guided Surgery for Bone Ring Technique
A clinical case report by Vasilios Alevizakos, Ahmed Mohamed Othman, Constantin von See, Austria
In totally and partially edentulous patients, implant placement and alveolar bone augmentation is a treatment that is considered to be very feasible and predictable in prosthetic rehabilitation1. Good clinical prognosis is due to the use not only of new materials but also of new technology, which aids the surgeon in providing the most accurate and precise treatment. The implant template is considered to be of clinical value, and can improve the accuracy of implantation and subsequently that of the overall implant solution2, 3. Different bone grafts are available depending on the amount of bone deficiency and the bone augmentation volume needed4-8. Bone grafts vary in nature, and can be autogenous, allogenic, xenogeneic, or alloplastic7. Allogenic bone grafts spare the patient from donor site morbidity and are known for their osteoconductive and osteoinductive properties. If vertical, horizontal or combined alveolar bone ridge augmentation is indicated, different methods with varying rates of success and degrees of difficulty have been established9-14. The bone ring augmentation method is relatively easy to perform, and significantly shortens treatment time since it is possible to place the implant at the same time8-12. In addition, studies show good prognosis with this type of alveolar ridge augmentation8-15. The usual donor sites for bone grafts are the chin region, the retromolar region, the hard palate or the maxillary tuberosity of the same patient16.