The treatment of completely edentulous patients by implant restoration is difficult that most edentulous patients have vertical
and/or horizontal bone resorption of residual ridge and lack of resistance of the oral mucosa. When multiple implantations are
planned for the severely atrophied alveolar ridge, usually delayed implant placement is recommended after the procedure of onlay
block bone graft. Block bone graft has the advantage of maintaining the contour of bone and stabilizing the reconstructed site. It
however, shows the reduced capability of osteogenesis and has slower revasculization tendency and more possibility of
complication in the recipient site.
Guided bone generation(GBR) using particulate bone is the most popular procedure, when bone graft is needed like the cases of
dehiscence or fenestration wound with implant installations. Even though this method provides convenience for operator and
satisfaction for patients, it is not usually indicated for reconstruction of severely atrophied alveolar bone because of its poor
prognosis.
These are the cases we performed minimal invasive approach with GBR procedure for the case of complete edentulous arch with
large bone defects using the absorbable membrane rather than using non-absorbable membrane or onlay block bone graft to make
sufficient bone reconstruction for multiple implant placement. [THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN ACADEMY OF IMPLANT
DENTISTRY 2011;30(1):77-82]