Sandwich bone graft for vertical augmentation of the posterior maxillary region: a case report with 9-year follow-up

The loss of teeth followed by bone resorption often lead to defects in the alveolar ridge, making installation of dental implants difficult. Correction of such bone defects, especially lack of height of the ridge, is a difficult problem for all dental surgeons. This report describes the outcome of treatment after alveolar ridge augmentation in the atrophic posterior maxillary region via segmental sandwich osteotomy combined with placement of an interpositional autograft prior to placement of endosseous implants. The technique was successfully used to treat a deficiency in the vertical dimension of the posterior maxillary region. Six months after graft surgery, two implants were successfully placed in accordance with the original treatment protocol, and they survived for 9 years of follow-up.