Dental implants placed in expanded narrow edentulous ridges with the Extension Crest® device

Objective: This study has been designed to evaluate the capability of a new surgical device (Extension Crest®) to widen narrow edentulous alveolar ridges and to allow a correct placement of endosseous implants in horizontally atrophied sites. Material and methods: Forty‐five patients, 20 males and 25 females, aged 20–66 years, affected by edentulism associated to horizontal resorption of the ridges, were treated by means of a sagittal osteotomy and expansion of the ridge with a new surgical device (Extension Crest®) to obtain a wider bony base for ideal implant placement. In the same procedure in 33 patients, and 1 week afterwards in 12 patients, 110 endosseous titanium implants (ITI TE®) were placed. Three to four months later, the patients were rehabilitated with implant‐supported prostheses. Results: The success rate of the expansion technique was 97.8%. A total of 110 implants were inserted in the expanded ridges. The mean follow‐up after the start of prosthetic loading was 20.4 months. Three implants were removed before the start of prosthetic loading, because of non‐integration, while no other implants failed after the completion of the prosthetic rehabilitation. Three implants, although integrated and in function, did not fulfill success criteria: cumulative success and survival rates at the end of the observation period were 95.4% and 97.3%, respectively. Conclusion: Within the limits of this study, this technique appeared to be reliable and simple, with reduction of morbidity and times of dental rehabilitation as compared with other techniques such as autogenous bone grafts and guided bone regeneration. Survival and success rates of implants placed in the treated areas are consistent with those placed in native bone.