Full-staged digital and prosthetic guided protocol for the insertion of dental implants in autogenous free bone grafts after reconstruction of segmental mandibular defects.

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the clinical and radiographic outcomes of dental implants, inserted in consolidated free bone grafts; postsegmental mandibular resection, after following a fully guided staged protocol, which established a systematic approach that correlates the grafted bone and the enclosed implants to the undisturbed mandibular segments and the maxillary occlusal plane. Seven patients were enrolled in the study; all were diagnosed for mandibular locally aggressive tumors. All of the patients were subjected to computer-guided segmental mandibular resections, secondary free iliac crest bone graft; aided by computer-guided harvest and prosthetic guidance of the graft positioning and fixation. Finally, the guided bone grafts; after being consolidated, received twenty-nine computer-guided dental implants. By the end of the period of osseointegration, the predetermined criteria of implant success judged the success of twenty-five implants, versus the failure of four implants, with (86.2%) percentage of success. The clinical and radiographic assessments demonstrated sound base bone grafts, which succeeded not only to restore the native mandibular continuity and configuration but also to direct the fair-sized embedded dental implants into favorable coastal locations and axial projections, which influenced a smooth prosthetic rehabilitation.