Maxillary sinus lift using osteoinductive simvastatin combined with ß-TCP versus ß-TCP - a comparative pilot study to evaluate simvastatin enhanced and accelerated bone formation.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate available bone quality and quantity after performing sinus augmentation using simvastatin/ß-TCP combination versus ß-TCP alone. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included eight sinus lift procedures conducted on six patients. The sinuses were divided into two equal groups. The patients were recalled one, two weeks two, five, nine months post-operatively for post-operative evaluation. Radiographic evaluation involved cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) radiographs taken for every patient one week and nine months post-operatively to evaluate the changes in bone height, while histomorphometric evaluation involved transcortical bone biopsies taken after nine months during the second-stage surgery for implant placement. RESULTS: The histomorphometric results showed that the amount of newly formed bone was higher in the simvastatin group when compared to the ß-TCP group nine months after the surgery; the difference between the two groups was statistically significant. On the other hand, the radiographic evaluation showed that the rate of resorption of the simvastatin group was found to be higher than the control group; however, the difference between both groups was statistically insignificant. CONCLUSION: These results showed that Simvastatin is safe to be used in sinus lift with promising osteoinductive capacity, yet further studies using larger sample size is needed.

Platelet-Rich Fibrin in Maxillary Sinus Augmentation: A Systematic Review.

The aim of this study was to systemically assess the efficacy of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) on maxillary sinus augmentation using the lateral approach. A PubMed search and a hand search of relevant journals and the bibliographies of selected articles were performed. Clinical studies using PRF with open maxillary sinus augmentation were included. The search provided 290 titles; only 8 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Identified studies showed heterogeneity regarding surgical technique, grafting material, implant placement time, protocol, outcome measures, healing time for biopsy, and implant placement, as well as follow-up period. From the 8 identified studies, 3 studies used PRF as a sole filling material, whereas the other 5 studies used PRF with bone substitutes. PRF showed promising results as a sole filling material for sinus lift with simultaneous implant placement, and PRF seemed to accelerate maturation of a demineralized freeze dried bone allograft. Conversely, it had no effect on deproteinized bovine maturation. PRF fibrin membranes represent an easy and successful method to cover the sinus membrane or osteotomy window.