Moldable and Particulate Bone Material in Alveolar Ridge Preservation: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Dental implantology and regenerative medicine.
• Bone grafting and tissue engineering for alveolar ridge preservation.

Background:

• Alveolar ridge preservation (ARP) is crucial for maintaining bone volume after tooth extraction, facilitating successful dental implant placement.
• Different bone graft materials are used for ARP, with varying histological and radiological outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the histological and radiological differences between moldable bone (SBX) and particulate bone (PBX) materials for alveolar ridge preservation (ARP).
• To evaluate new bone formation, residual graft material, and connective tissue integration following ARP with two distinct bone graft types.

Main Methods:

• A randomized clinical trial involving 39 patients (40 teeth) undergoing ARP post-extraction.
• Patients were assigned to receive either moldable bone (SBX) or particulate bone (PBX) grafts, covered with a collagen membrane.
• Radiological (Cone-beam computed tomography) and histomorphometric analyses were performed 5 months post-procedure.

Main Results:

• No significant radiological differences were observed in midbuccal alveolar bone height or horizontal ridge width between the SBX and PBX groups at 5 months.
• The SBX group demonstrated significantly higher percent new bone area (39.16%) compared to the PBX group (22.75%) (p < 0.001).
• The SBX group also showed a significantly lower percent residual material area (8.97%) versus the PBX group (15.63%) (p = 0.037).

Conclusions:

• Both moldable bone and particulate bone materials can achieve comparable alveolar ridge preservation (ARP) radiologically.
• Histological findings indicate superior new bone formation and reduced residual graft material when using moldable bone for ARP.
• Moldable bone presents a promising alternative for ARP, offering favorable bone regeneration characteristics.