Aim: To evaluate the self-inflating tissue expander prior to vertical ridge augmentation of atrophic posterior mandible. Materials and methods: Eight patients with atrophic posterior mandible were included in the study. Self-inflating tissue expander was inserted in a submucosal pouch and removed after 60 days. Vertical ridge augmentation was performed using sandwiched graft technique with allogenic bone blocks. Results: No signs of inflammation or thinning of the mucosa was observed. None of the patients were presented with any dehiscence or graft exposure during different follow up periods. The height of the bone blocks used was measured with a periodontal probe for all the patients after insertion in the surgical site with a mean vertical height gain of 8.36 ± 1.63 mm. The mean soft tissue volume gain according to the measurements obtained from the optical analysis was 834.4 ± 59 mm3 Conclusion: Self-inflating tissue expanders combined with sandwiched vertical ridge augmentation procedure in posterior atrophic mandibles showed excellent results regarding healing, absence of inflammation, adequate soft tissue and hard tissue gain with absence of any signs of dehiscence or graft exposure.
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