Abstract: Surgeons and patients find it challenging to reconstruct the complex alveolar bone defects clinically. For complex alveolar bone defects, surgeons are responsible for making the most appropriate surgical plan, which requires them to fully understand the indications and technical key points of the existing bone augmentation techniques, and then choose an appropriate method to complete the alveolar bone defect reconstruction and the following implant placement. Based on clinical experience and literature review, the author summarizes the classification of alveolar bone defects, and focuses on the most commonly used bone augmentation techniques during clinical practice, such as Onlay bone grafting, split bone block technique, sausage technique, GBR technique with non-resorbable membrane, and GBR technique using titanium mesh. This article aims to provide a reference for the reconstruction of complex alveolar bone defects for dental implant specialists.

Key words: Alveolar bone defects, Bone augmentation, Implant, Surgical plan