The following case demonstrates that a surgical strategy for implant treatment in the anterior maxilla can be planned in non debrided cases demonstrating a history of chronic infection.

This patient presented three months post extraction, where no intra-socket curettage or debridement had been performed, and with the extracting dentist informing the patient that the bone lesion would resolve following the extraction. However, the three month X-ray reveals a persistent apical sclerotic demarcation and little or no bony regeneration. Only granulation tissue filled the entire space of the former tooth root, and the potential osteotomy was wider than the 4mm fixture for all of the former root length (Figure 1).