Ridge Split Technique

Tooth loss in permanent dentition occurs gradually during years of the life. Replacement of missing teeth with dental implant procedures is one of the greatest advances in dentistry. Problem of resorbed ridges and the ways to add hard and soft tissue in defective sites to provide adequate height and width for appropriate implant insertion has still remained challenging.Inadequate width of the residual ridge in the posterior mandible is a very difficult clinical situation hence placement of implants in severely resorbed alveolar bone remains a challenge for most of the clinicians. The resorption of the residual ridge results in insufficient bone volume in one or more dimensions (in vertical or horizontal direction).Ridge split technique involves separating the buccal and lingual cortical plates and creating the sufficient amount of space to receive dental implants. The spaces created between the cortical plates and the implants are subsequently filled with particulate bone graft materials. This technique does not remove bone from the implant site but dislocates it, increasing the volume of available bone at the implantation site.