Alveolar ridge augmentation with titanium mesh and a combination of autogenous bone and anorganic bovine bone: a 2-year prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Recently, the use of bovine bone mineral (BBM) in combination with autogenous bone for alveolar ridge augmentation before implant placement has increased in favor because of concerns over morbidity associated with extraoral donor sites. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic parameters of implants placed in augmented ridges using a 70:30 mixture of autogenous bone and BBM in association with micro-mesh over a 2-year period.

METHODS: Sixteen partially edentulous patients requiring bone augmentation were consecutively treated for 19 reconstructive procedures and delayed implant placement (44 implants) after 8 to 9 months of submerged mesh healing. Clinical examinations were performed and radiographs of the implants were taken 6 months after prosthetic loading and once a year during a 2-year follow-up.

RESULTS: Only one (5.3%) of the 19 micro-meshes became exposed after 2 months and was removed. Computed tomography scans of the alveolar ridge pre- and postreconstruction demonstrated mean vertical augmentation of 3.71 +/- 1.24 mm and mean horizontal augmentation of 4.16 +/- 0.59 mm. All of the implants were retained after 2 years, yielding a 100% survival rate. The mean bone resorption around the implants was 1.37 +/- 0.32 mm during the observation period. Only three implants demonstrated bone resorption >2 mm, whereas 41 implants were considered clinically successful, resulting in a success rate of 93.1%.

CONCLUSION: This 2-year prospective study demonstrated that implants placed into augmented bone using this technique exhibited peri-implant stability with high survival (100%) and success (93.1%) rates.