Autogenous mandibular bone grafts in the treatment of the resorbed maxillary anterior alveolar ridge: rationale and approach.

Patients can present with a variety of conditions that limit, or prevent, the ideal placement of endosteal implants. One of these situations is depicted by an insufficient amount of bone for implant placement in the maxillary anterior alveolar ridge. Autogenous bone grafting can be used to augment the ridge to provide a sufficient amount of bone for implant placement. Using the mandibular symphysis as a donor site offers ease of access, good bone quality for localized repair, a corticocancellous block graft morphology, low morbidity, and minimal graft resorption. A procedure for harvesting and placing an autogenous mandibular bone graft is presented; as are the advantages of using this location as a donor site compared with other locations.