Does new bone formation vary in different sites within the same maxillary sinus after lateral augmentation? A...

Area of Science:

• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Regenerative Dentistry
• Implantology

Background:

• Lateral maxillary sinus augmentation is crucial for dental implant placement when residual bone height is insufficient.
• Understanding factors influencing bone regeneration within the augmented sinus is essential for predictable outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To histomorphometrically evaluate bone regeneration in different regions of lateral maxillary sinus grafts.
• To correlate these outcomes with pre-operative sinus width (SW) and residual bone height (RBH).

Main Methods:

• Composite grafts were used for lateral sinus augmentation in patients with RBH < 5 mm.
• Bone core biopsies were taken from mesial and distal implant sites after 6 months.
• Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) assessed SW and RBH; multivariate analysis correlated parameters.

Main Results:

• The mean percentage of newly formed mineralized tissue (%NFMT) was significantly higher in mesial (17.5%) compared to distal (11.6%) sites.
• A strong negative correlation was found between sinus width (SW) and %NFMT (β = -0.774, p < 0.0001).
• No significant correlation was observed between residual bone height (RBH) and %NFMT (β = -0.038, p = 0.825).

Conclusions:

• Bone regeneration rates differ within the same maxillary sinus augmentation site.
• Sinus width is a significant predictor of graft success, negatively impacting new bone formation.
• RBH did not influence histomorphometric outcomes, suggesting SW is a critical factor for clinicians and researchers.