Background

Reconstruction of our patients ' dentition is a very rewarding and fulfilling aspect of dentistry. Our abilities as dentists in enabling patients to chew appropriately or smile confidently can at times be life changing for the patient. Dental implants are an exciting portion of our armamentarium with which to reconstruct the partially or fully edentulous jaws. Many patients present after tooth loss with alveolar defects that will not accommodate a dental implant prosthesis. The defect may range in size from that seen with a small loss of the buccal cortex from an avulsed tooth to a resected jaw as a result of cancer or an odontogenic tumour. Autogenous bone remains the "Gold Standard " for grafting. Although allogenic bone, xenogeneic bone