Crestal Bone Loss Around Narrow Diameter Implants Versus Standard Diameter Implants With Bone Augmentation in Horizontally Deficient Posterior Mandibular Sites.

Dental implant treatment, in many cases, may be impeded by anatomical limitations, such as narrow atrophic ridges. In order to overcome that, additional surgical procedures, such as guided bone regeneration, are often required to augment the deficient hard tissue. However, additional surgical procedures often add morbidity to the patient in addition to prolonging the treatment time and raising the treatment cost. Hence, simpler, less invasive treatment options are preferred by patients. The use of narrow diameter implants (NDI) offers the great advantage of eliminating the need for augmentation procedures.