Keratinized tissue augmentation using collagen-based soft tissue substitute with/without epidermal growth factor on...

Area of Science:

• Periodontology
• Dental Implantology
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Gingival recession and inadequate keratinized tissue (KT) pose challenges in dental implantology.
• Augmenting KT is crucial for implant stability and peri-implant health.
• Epithelial growth factor (EGF) and collagen matrix (CM) are explored for tissue regeneration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of epithelial growth factor (EGF) combined with collagen matrix (CM) for keratinized tissue (KT) augmentation.
• To compare EGF-CM treatments with free gingival grafts (FGG) and CM alone for KT gain around buccally positioned implants in dogs.

Main Methods:

• Four KT augmentation techniques were tested in dogs with buccally placed implants: FGG, CM alone, CM with 1 μg/g EGF, and CM with 10 μg/g EGF.
• Clinical, histologic, and histomorphometric analyses were conducted three months post-augmentation.

Main Results:

• Free gingival grafts (FGG) resulted in the largest clinical and histomorphometric KT zone.
• All groups showed increased KT, but FGG demonstrated superior height and length.
• Buccal bony dehiscence was observed in all groups; EGF addition to CM did not significantly improve KT formation.

Conclusions:

• Free gingival grafts (FGG) are a favorable treatment for re-establishing the keratinized tissue (KT) zone.
• The use of epithelial growth factor (EGF) with collagen matrix (CM) did not show enhanced KT gain compared to other methods.