Autogenous bone and a bovine bone substitute for ridge preservation: preliminary clinical and histologic findings.

<bold>Background: </bold>Tooth extractions lead to morphological changes of the alveolar ridge. For oral rehabilitation sufficient bone volume of the alveolar ridge is required. This clinical study compared the ability of Bio-Oss® Collagen to autogenous bone to preserve bone volume after tooth extraction.<bold>Methods: </bold>A total of 17 patients with 20 extraction sites were examined. After extraction, 10 sockets were each filled with either autogenous bone or Bio-Oss® Collagen and covered with a resorbable membrane. The width of the alveolar ridge was measured postoperatively, and after 4 and 6 months respectively. Prior to implant insertion, a bone biopsy was taken from the grafted sites and evaluated histologically.<bold>Results: </bold>The width of the alveolar ridge in the Bio-Oss® Collagen group decreased about 5.33 ± 6.62% after 4 months and 9.45 ± 10.51% after 6 months. The reduction in the group augmented with autogenous bone was 14.31 ± 21.41% after 4 months and 19.17 ± 8.38% after 6 months. No statistically significant differences were observed. The histological examination showed comparable area fractions of total bone in both groups (Bio-Oss® Collagen: 59.99 ± 24.23%; autogenous bone: 61.55 ± 25.13%; p = 1.0).<bold>Conclusions: </bold>The present study demonstrated that autogenous bone and Bio-Oss® Collagen are suitable for ridge preservation. However, both techniques could not entirely prevent tissue volume loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]