The Bone Bridge Technique Utilizing Bone from the Lateral Wall of the Maxillary Sinus for Ridge Augmentation: Case Reports of a 1-7 Year Follow-Up.

The post-extraction socket of a periodontally compromised tooth/implant is oftentimes accompanied by a very wide-deep alveolar ridge defect. The commonly utilized treatment is ridge preservation followed by delayed implant placement 4 to 6 months after extraction. In the four cases presented in this study, a novel technique of utilizing a bone block obtained from the lateral wall of the maxillary sinus is introduced. Due to the severe localized vertical ridge deficiency, an intraoral autogenous bone block was obtained from the ipsilateral sinus bony window. After the obtained bone block was properly trimmed, it was fixed in the form of a bridge over the vertical defect by the press-fit method. In two cases, the gap between the autogenous bone and defect was filled with a particulate synthetic bone graft, and in another two cases, the gap was left without grafting. All cases were covered with a resorbable collagen membrane. At the time of re-entry after 5 to 6 months, the bone bridge was well incorporated beside the adjacent native bone and helped by the implant placement. Uncovering was performed after 3 to 6 months, and prostheses were delivered after 2 months. Oral function was maintained without any change in the marginal bone level even after the 1- to 7-year post-prosthesis delivery. This case series showed that the bone bridge technique performed using an ipsilateral sinus bony window for a localized vertical deficiency of a post-extraction socket can be used for successful vertical ridge augmentation (VRA).