Guided bone regeneration with barrier membranes--a clinical and radiographic follow-up study after 24 months

The present follow-up study evaluated clinical and radiographic parameters of dental implants placed with simultaneous guided bone regeneration with expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (e-PTFE) membranes. All implants were functioning well 24 months after insertion. In all, 63 patients with a total of 91 e-PTFE-augmented implants were integrated in a regular maintenance protocol. Modified periodontal data of 85 implants in 59 patients were recorded at 24 months and indicated no difference to implants placed in sufficient pristine bone. The mean plaque score (mplI) was 0.29, 74% of the sites showed no plaque. The sulcular probing depth ranged from 1 to 7 mm with a mean of 2.6 mm (SD +/- 0.8). Of the sites 96.5% were < or = 4 mm deep, in 49% of them probing resulted in bleeding. Periotest values 6 and 24 months (mean: -3.4 and -3.4) after placement revealed stable peri-implant conditions and sustained osseointegration. The radiographic evaluation performed 6, 12 and 24 months post insertion yielded a mean bone loss of 0.93, 1.36 and 1.51 mm ranging from 0 to 4 mm. The short-term results of our clinical study demonstrated stable peri-implant conditions 2 years after membrane-protected osseous regeneration. The newly formed bone seemed to be able to withstand functional loading in a predictable manner after 18 months.