Impact of donor site for bone graft harvesting for dental implants on health-related and oral health-related quality of life.

OBJECTIVES: To assess and compare changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) after bone graft harvesting for dental implants with respect to the donor site. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Autologous bone grafts were harvested in a consecutive sample of 23 patients (mean age: 46.1 years; 52% female) either from an intra-oral (IO; N = 8; chin, ascending ramus, buttress region) or an extra-oral (EO; N = 15; anterior iliac crest) donor site, followed by implant placements. HRQoL was self-administered by the patients using the Short-Form 36 (SF-36) and OHRQoL was assessed using the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-49) preoperatively, 3 days and 4 weeks after surgery. Impact of donor site on changes in both concepts of QoL was determined in multiple linear regression analyses. RESULTS: Patients with extra-oral donor sites reported a substantial deterioration in the physical component (PC) of HRQoL indicated by an increase in the PC score of the SF-36 (P < 0.001), whereas this score did not significantly change in patients with intra-oral donor sites. The mental health component (MC) of HRQoL (MC score of the SF-36) remained virtually identical in both groups. OHRQoL deteriorated from baseline (67.7 OHIP points) to first follow-up (76.6 OHIP points) in both groups, however, changes were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: In clinical decision-making regarding donor site for bone graft harvesting, patients and clinicians should be aware of the expected decrease in HRQoL if deciding to use extra-oral donor sites. Whenever possible, intra-oral donor sites should be preferred.

Making bone II: maxillary sinus augmentation with mononuclear cells--case report with a new clinical method.

We report a simplified method of using bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC™) to regenerate hard tissue. The results suggest that BMAC™ combined with a suitable biomaterial can form sufficient bone within 3 months for further implants to be inserted, and at the same time minimise morbidity at the donor site.

Onset and maintenance of angiogenesis in biomaterials: in vivo assessment by dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI.

OBJECTIVE: To describe dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) as a practical tool for longitudinal assessment of angiogenesis in biomaterials. BACKGROUND: There is a lack of suitable methods for in vivo evaluation of the integration of biomaterials in a clinical setting. In oncology, DCE-MRI is used for the longitudinal monitoring of altered tumor angiogenesis during therapy. Thus, we investigated whether DCE-MRI enables to assess the integration of biomaterials over time. METHODS: The tested material was bovine bone matrix applied in a bilateral sinus lift procedure in combination with concentrated mononuclear cells, including mesenchymal stem cells and autologous thrombin. To assess the development of new blood vessels inside the biomaterial, DCE-MRI was carried out before and 11, 25, 53, and 104 days after surgery. Perfusionparameters were calculated according to the model of Tofts. RESULTS: Analysis of the data revealed increasing parameters for perfusion and blood supply within the transplant over time. It was possible to determine the values for each transplantation site and each point of time separately. CONCLUSION: DCE-MRI is appropriate to repetitively survey angiogenesis and integration of biomaterials in patients. It seems appropriate as a valuable indicator of treatment response or failure, with consecutive adaption of the therapy regime.