Comparison of Ridge Expansion and Ridge Splitting Techniques for Narrow Alveolar Ridge in a Swine Cadaver Model

Ridge splitting and ridge expansion have been used to expand narrow alveolar ridges. Piezosurgical ridge splitting involves separating the atrophic crests with piezosurgical inserts. Ridge expansion with motor-driven expanders was proposed to achieve the cortical dilation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of ridge gain by ridge expansion or ridge splitting. Eighteen (36 ramus) swine cadaver jaws were first divided into two groups-ridge expansion with a motor-driven expander or ridge splitting with the piezosurgical system. Then, either an active-tapping implant or nonactive-tapping cylinder-type implant was inserted. The crestal ridge diameter change was measured with a Boley gauge. The area of bony perforation, which includes fenestrations and dehiscences, was measured with a prefabricated reference grid. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference in crestal width gain between groups. However, the combination of the motor-driven ridge expansion technique and the activetapping implant could be beneficial in significantly decreasing the bony perforation area.