Abstract

Purpose : Ridge expansion osteotomy (REO) has been introduced when it is necessary to expand narrow crestal ridge with simultaneous implant placement. This study has been designed to evaluate the clinical availability of REO. Materials and methods : Subjects were patients who had visited Seoul National University Bundang Hospital from July, 2003 to December, 2005 for implant placement using REO by one surgeon. Intraoperative and postoperative complication, failure of initial osseointegration and marginal bone resorption were estimated using electronic medical record and periapical radiography. Twenty-three patients, 8 males and 15 females, mean age 51, ranged 18 to 72, were treated for mean 26 months, ranged from 16 months to 46 months. Results : Mean diameter and length of implants placed at upper anterior, were 3.72mm and 13.32mm each other. Guided bone regeneration and ridge splitting were accompanied in this study. Five cases of cortical bone fracture, three cases of crestal bone loss more than 2mm, 2 cases of gingival recession, and 2 cases of infection were noted, but there were no implants removed because of disintegration. Success rate of implant was 91.7%, even if survival rate of implant was 100%. In addition, there were no statistical significance between the success rate of REO and bone graft (p>0.05). Conclusion : Based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that REO technique is reliable for implant placement at atrophic ridge with adequate height compared to bone graft and other osteotomies for ridge expansion, but care should be taken of esthetic problem such as gingival recession because of crestal bone resorption from trauma by osteotome.