Prosthetic restoration of the atrophic posterior mandible with implants: present possibilities and new trends

The rehabilitation of partial and total edentulism with implant-supported prostheses has become common practice in the last 3 decades with very promising long-term results. However, in case of relevant lack of bone, the use of oral implants may become difficult or impossible, due to the superficialization of the inferior alveolar nerve and/or the reduction of the alveolar ridge width; moreover, the related prosthetic restoration may be inadequate from a functional and/or esthetic point of view due to the unfavorable horizontal and vertical intermaxillary relationships. The aim of this lecture is to provide an overview on the present possibilities and new trends concerning the prosthetic restoration with implants in case of severe atrophy of the posterior mandible. In particular, advantages, disadvantages, possibilities and limits of the following techniques will be presented: a)reduced dimension implants; b)GBR; c) bone grafts; d)distraction osteogenesis