title: Alveolar sandwich osteotomy in resorbed alveolar ridge for dental implants: a 4-year prospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To answer whether severe vertical alveolar defects can be resolved using the sandwich osteotomy technique with xenograft material as filler and to evaluate the predictability of this procedure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten graft sites (5 mandibular and 5 maxillary) in 9 patients treated at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hadassah Medical Center, were included in the present study. The patients underwent vertical bone augmentation using the sandwich osteotomy technique filled with xenograft material. The degree of bone augmentation was analyzed clinically at surgery and 4 to 6 months later from the computed tomography images taken just before the sites had been rehabilitated using dental implant insertion. A trephine histologic analysis was performed during implantation at 1 maxillary site.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean vertical bone gain in the interval between the sandwich osteotomy and implementation was 6 mm (range 4 to 10), and it remained stable after 4 to 6 months. In 2 cases, additional horizontal bone augmentation was needed. All graft sites were rehabilitated using dental implants with satisfactory results. In 3 cases, gingival porcelain was required for the final prosthesis. Histologic examination revealed vital segmentized bone and remodeling of the filled gap.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The interpositional alveolar bone graft using xenograft filler appears to be a viable and predictable alternative to block grafting or guided bone regeneration, resulting in good final results, with substantial vertical bone gain, even for challenging cases.
authors: Attending Physician, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hebrew University-Hadassah Faculty of Dental Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel. Electronic address: amirlaviv@gmail.com.
authors: Amir
authors: A
authors: Laviv
authors: Visiting Professor, Hebrew University-Hadassah, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors: Ole T
authors: OT
authors: Jensen
authors: Attending Physician, Department of Prosthodontics, Hebrew University-Hadassah Faculty of Dental Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors: Eyal
authors: E
authors: Tarazi
authors: Associate Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hebrew University-Hadassah Faculty of Dental Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors: Nardy
authors: N
authors: Casap
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000601:surgery*; D000540:Alveolar Ridge Augmentation / Q000379:methods*; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D015921:Dental Implants; D005260:Female; D005893:Gingivoplasty; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000601:surgery; D008437:Maxilla / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D013516:Oral Surgical Procedures, Preprosthetic / Q000379:methods*; D010027:Osteotomy / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D060053:Transplant Donor Site; D014716:Vertical Dimension; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018786:Bone Substitutes; D015921:Dental Implants