Localized Ridge Augmentation Using Guided Bone Regeneration

Dental implants have become a universally recognized treatment method for the replacement of missing teeth [1–7]. For the long-term success of dental implants, it is essential that adequate bone quality and quantity must be present at the planned placement sites. Careful presurgical clinical and radiographic evaluation is required to obtain the information needed regarding the bone quality and quantity as well as the vertical and horizontal dimensions. Should the results of this careful analysis reveal that the buccal-lingual width and height of the alveolar ridge is inadequate at the planned dental implant locations, reconstructive surgical procedures are indicated. Reconstruction of the alveolar ridge can be achieved through guided bone regeneration using barrier membranes [8–13], which is a bone augmentation technique that was initially developed by Melcher for periodontal regenerative procedures [12]. Guided bone regeneration (GBR) is preferable to describe the regeneration of bone defects using barrier membranes.