Effects of alveolar ridge preservation on delayed implant osseointegration

To evaluate the effects of alveolar ridge preservation with Bio-Oss bone substitute (Geistlich Pharma) on delayed implant osseointegration. The 3rd and 4th left and right mandibular premolars were extracted from four adult healthy male and female dogs. For the experimental group, we randomly selected two extraction sockets in each dog to be filled with Bio-Oss bone substitute (Geistlich Pharma). The two remaining extraction sockets remained untreated and served as the control group. Three months after Bio-Oss placement, dental implants were inserted into the alveolar bone of the experimental group and the control group. The osteogenic activity of the bone around the implants was assessed by evaluating the histological morphology and by estimating histomorphometric parameters at 3 and 6 months after delayed implantation. At 3 months, Goldner's trichrome staining analysis showed that the bone-implant contact rate and mineralised bone area around the implant were significantly higher in the experimental group (75.98% ± 8.97% and 69.52% ± 9.63%, respectively) than in the control group (56.13% ± 8.18% and 52.82% ± 7.25%, respectively; P < 0.05). However, at 6 months, the two groups showed no significant difference. Fluorescence microscopy analysis revealed that the average mineralisation apposition rate of the bone tissue around the dental implant in the experimental group at 3 and 6 months was 6.80 ± 0.43 μm and 8.38 ± 0.84 μm, respectively, which was significantly higher than the rate in the control group (P < 0.05). These data indicated that alveolar ridge preservation by using Bio-Oss placement can promote osseointegration of delayed implantation. This may be a promising option for clinical use.