Widening a narrow posterior mandibular alveolus following extirpation of a large cyst: a case treated with a titanium mesh-plate type distractor

Vertical alveolar augmentation by distraction osteogenesis has become a standard pretreatment of dental implants due to the main benefit of lack of donor site complications, and many reports have shown its benefit with various types of alveolar distractors. However, autogenous bone transplantation and/or guided bone regeneration techniques are still the standard treatment for correcting a narrow alveolar ridge because of few commercially available distractors for alveolar widening. In this article, we treated a case by a mesh-plate type of alveolar widening distractor for a narrow posterior mandibular alveolar ridge after extirpation of a large jaw cyst.