Ambiguous Superior Border of Inferior Alveolar Canal

A 53-year-old man has lost the lower left 2nd molar for several years (Fig.1 (red dashed line: outline of the socket).  He is muscular.  According to panoramic X-ray, the Inferior Alveolar Canal is low (Fig.2,3; blue and yellow dashed lines representing its superior and inferior borders, respectively).  Closer view reveals that the superior border may be higher (Fig.4 orange dashed line).  It appears that a 14 mm long bone-level implant may be not safe (Fig.5), whereas a 13 (Fig.6) or 12 (Fig.7) mm implant appears to be fine.  Prepare 4 mm implant spacer to decide the position of the starter drill and 5 mm implant positioner to determine the diameter of the prospective implant.  The depth of 2 mm pilot drill will be 13 mm.  Take PA with a calibrated parallel pin.  The opposing is an immediate provisional.  Return to Lower Molar Immediate Implant Xin Wei, DDS, PhD, MS 1st edition 09/05/2015, last revision 05/15/2020