Short Dental Implants on Rehabilitation of Atrophic Maxillary Ridge Utilizing Digital Planning

This is a clinical case of a healthy man with a missing upper right lateral incisor (#12) and canine (#13) who requested for a permanent prosthetic replacement due to a history of trauma. An orthodontic alignment was performed to idealise the spaces in the upper and lower arches. A horizontal guided bone regeneration (GBR) was then performed on the residual ridge on #12 and #13 using the xenograft [Cerabone ®, Botiss gmbh, Berlin, Germany] and resorbable collagen membrane (Lyoplant®). After 12 months, the radiographic analysis showed apparent bone-fill with an adequate horizontal bone gain which was further analysed using a specialized software for digital implant planning [R2GATE v1.1.1; Megagen, Daegu, Korea]. Two short dental implants (7.0 mm) were incorporated as part of the overall treatment plan. In this case, the utilization of the short implants on a previously augmented ridge with the aid of a digital implant planning showed excellent an clinical outcome.