Buccal bone remodeling after tooth extraction using the flapless approach with and without synthetic bone grafting. A histomorphometric study in dogs.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate buccal bone remodeling of fresh sockets following tooth extraction using the flapless approach, with or without synthetic graft materials. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eight dogs had the mandibular bicuspids extracted without flaps, and two alveoli on each side (total of 4) were selected. The following groups were devised one socket on each side received a grafting material (test group), and the other remained only with a blood clot (control group). Ground sections were prepared from 12-week healing biopsies, and histomorphometry was performed. RESULTS: The buccal crest level (BCL) relative to the new bone (i), in the test group, showed numerically better data when compared with the control group, but without statistical relevance. The BCL relative to the old bone (ii) was very similar for the groups without statistical relevance. The alveolar ridge width (ARW) showed similar results without statistically significant difference between the groups. The total bone area (TBA) showed statistically significant differences between the test (38.60%) and control (47.18%) groups. The new bone area (NBA) presents a numerical difference between the test (15.62%) and control (22.24%), but without statistically significant differences. The old bone and the bone marrow were similar for both groups. CONCLUSION: It was observed that there was no loss of the buccal bone crest in relation to the lingual bone crest, especially in the test group.