Daniel B. Spagnoli, DDS, PhD
Steven G. Gollehon, DDS, MD
Dale J.Misiek, DMD



Preprosthetic surgery in the 1970s and early 1980s involved methods to prepare or improve a patient’s ability to wear complete or partial dentures. Most procedures were centered around soft tissue corrections that allowed prosthetic devices to fit more securely and function more comfortably. In severe cases bony augmentation was incorporated and included such procedures as cartilage grafts, rib grafts, alloplastic augmentation, visor osteotomies, and sandwich grafts. Patients who were poor candidates for surgery were often left with less-than-satisfactory results both functionally and esthetically.

In the late 1970s Brånemark and colleagues demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the implant-borne prosthesis. In the 1990s implantology, distraction osteogenesis, and guided tissue regeneration significantly expanded the capabilities of today’s reconstructive and preprosthetic surgeon. Genetically engineered growth factors will soon revolutionize our thoughts about reconstructive procedures. As a result, more patients are able to tolerate procedures because they are given increased freedom and satisfaction with regard to their prosthetic devices and, in many cases, undergo less-invasive techniques.

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