The efficacy of injectable bone fillers for alveolar ridge preservation: a microcomputed tomographic analysis

To evaluate the efficacy of injectable bone fillers for alveolar ridge preservation (ARP).

Mandibular premolars (P2, P3, P4) were bilaterally extracted in nine beagle dogs. Each tooth underwent hemisection, with the mesial root devitalized and filled with calcium hydroxide, while the distal roots were extracted. This resulted in six sockets per dog, which were randomly assigned to four injectable test materials (T1-T4), one control (C), and one negative control group (N). Primary wound closure was achieved in all groups except for N. After 12 weeks, tissue blocks were analyzed using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). The primary outcome was bone volume fraction (BV/TV, %). Secondary outcomes included trabecular thickness (Tb.Th, mm), trabecular separation (Tb.Sp, mm), bone surface to bone volume ratio (BS/BV, mm²/mm³), buccal bone defect volume (BBD, mm³), vertical bone height (VBH, mm), buccal wall thickness (BBW, mm) and lingual wall thickness (LBW, mm). Data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test.

After 12 weeks of healing, all groups were associated with a similar BC/TV values (64.6%, 68.2%, 69.0%, 66.5%, 76.5% and 79.8% in the T1, T2, T3, T4, C and N groups, respectively; p > 0.05 for all between group comparisons). No statistically significant differences were found among groups for Tb.Th, Tb.Sp, BS/BV, BBD, VBH, BBW and LBW.

Within its limitations, the present study showed comparable efficacy of injectable bone fillers in maintaining alveolar ridge dimensions compared with the C and N groups.

Injectable bone fillers represent a convenient and potentially effective alternative for alveolar ridge preservation procedures.