Zygomatic bone: an additional donor site for alveolar bone reconstruction. Technical note.

This article describes a procedure to harvest bone from the zygoma for alveolar bone reconstruction. A detailed description of the bone harvesting procedure and a preliminary report of 3 patients undergoing alveolar bone reconstruction and simultaneous dental implant placement in the maxillary anterior area is presented. The technique is indicated when a modest amount of bone is needed, for example, to cover exposed implant threads and expand a narrow alveolar ridge. It also could be used as an additional source of bone with other intraoral donor sites. Surgical access to the zygoma is simple and can be performed using local anesthesia. Postoperative complications after zygomatic bone harvest are minimal.