Summary

It is safe and simple to place small diameter 1-piece implant palatally to restore an upper anterior tooth with the atrophic buccal plate.  Good oral hygiene is essential postop and post cementation, including use of water pik and antifungal rinse associated with denture.

After incision, osteotomy starts in the palatal wall, ~ 5 mm from the crest (Fig.3).  Once penetrating the thick palatal cortex, the smallest initial drill changes the trajectory, more or less parallel to the buccal wall (by palpation, Fig.4).  GBR is conducted palatally (Fig.5 red circles) over the exposed thread of the implant (green).

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Xin Wei, DDS, PhD, MS 1st edition 08/10/2015, last revision 08/05/2018