Tissue reactions after simultaneous alveolar ridge augmentation with biphasic calcium phosphate and implant insertion--histological and immunohistochemical evaluation in humans.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Simultaneous lateral augmentation and implant placement is considered as standard procedure in deficient edentulous ridges in oral implantology. Histological studies monitoring osteogenesis after application of alloplastic bone substitutes in humans are scarce. Bone formation upon simultaneous augmentation with biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) and implantation was histologically investigated after 6 months in situ. The results of this secondary analysis are reported tempting to ascribe specific observations to uneventful submerged healing or compromised healing of soft tissues including occurrence of dehiscences and premature graft exposure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Histology of biopsies from lateral, crestal bone augmentations using alloplastic BCP comprising seven sites with compromised, prematurely exposed healing and six sites with uneventful submerged healing was investigated for expression of osteogenic, osteoclastogenic, and angiogenic differentiation markers. RESULTS: Histology revealed alkaline phosphatase (ALP)-positive osteoblasts and immunoreactivity for osteogenic markers osteocalcin and collagen type I in biopsies with submerged healing, while inflammatory infiltrates and accumulations of multinucleated giant cells around BCP granules were observed in compromised sites. All specimens presented adequate vessel density. Multinucleated giant cells showed inconsistent staining for the osteoclast marker tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP). CONCLUSIONS: The histological findings of this study indicate an osteoconductive nature of the BCP applied. Premature exposure of the bone substitute reduced new bone formation and may bear a risk for inflammatory and foreign body reactions. CLINICAL RELEVANCE A predictable appositional bone formation in simultaneously augmented sites using BCP is linked to an uneventful healing process.