The effects of guided bone regeneration and grafting on implants placed into immediate extraction sockets. An experimental study in dogs

GUIDED BONE REGENERATION (GBR) for the treatment of insufficient bone volum e around implants can be performed using membranes with or without grafting materials (i.e., autogenous, allogenous, xenogenous, or alloplastic grafts ). A possible way to evaluate the quality of implant osseointegration is th e torque necessary to remove implants from their bony housing, The aim of t his study was to compare the torques necessary to remove dental implants fr om implant beds reconstructed with different bone substitutes and GBR or GB R alone in 6 adult mongrel dogs. All mandibular premolars were extracted an d 3 extraction sockets on each side were enlarged using a trephine bur. A 1 3 mm titanium screw-type dental implant (3.75 mm diameter) was placed in ea ch enlarged extraction socket so that only the apical 3 to 4 mm were engage d in bone. The 3 defects were then randomly treated with either 1) canine d emineralized freeze-dried bone allograft (DFDBA) plus GBR using an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene membrane (DFDBA+GTAM); 2) bioabsorbable hydroxyapa tite and GBR (HA+GTAM); or 3) GBR (GTAM alone). After 6 months, the torque to remove the implants was measured in 4 animals and analyzed using ANOVA. There were no statistically significant differences between the 3 groups (G TAM alone: 46.37 +/- 16.41 Ncm; HA+GTAM: 46.00 +/- 16.59 Ncm; DFDBA+GTAM: 5 2.15 +/- 29.24 Ncm). Ln addition, the influence of early removal of barrier s on the torque values was evaluated with the t-test. Comparing exposed ver sus retained membranes by treatment modality, the only statistically signif icant difference was found in the DFDBA+GTAM group. When the torque values of all implants with exposed and retrieved membranes were compared to all t hose with retained membranes a significant difference could be detected. Hi stologic sections were prepared from the 2 dogs not included in the removal torque testing. In the histometric analysis the GTAM alone group showed a mean mineralized bone-to-implant-contact of 27.1%, the DFDBA+GTAM group of 34.6%, and the HA+GTAM of 39.3%. The mineralized bone-to-implant-contact of the HA+GTAM group was significantly higher than that of the GTAM alone gro up. In addition, the mineralized bone-to-implant-contact was divided into a n apical and coronal part using the apical seventh thread as the dividing l andmark. In the apical region, there was no significant difference between the groups regarding mineralized bone-to-implant-contact. In the coronal pa rt the mineralized bone-to-implant-contact of the GTAM alone group was sign ificantly lower compared to the other 2 groups. Within the limits of this i nvestigation, it can be concluded that the type of grafting material will n ot influence torque removal values, but that early membrane exposure and re moval will negatively influence the torque measurements. The combination of GBR with a bone substitute increased the mineralized bone-to-implant conta ct.