Different bone regeneration patterns in periimplant circumferential gap defects grafted with two types of osteoconductive biomaterial

This study aimed to determine healing patterns in periimplant gap defect grafted with demineralized bovine bone mineral (DBBM) and porous titanium granules (PTG), which are known to induce a minimal tissue reaction and to undergo minimal biodegradation in healing process. Experiments were performed using a standardized periimplant gap-defect model in dogs with two observational periods: 4 and 8 weeks. Circumferential defects were surgically induced around dental implants on unilateral mandibles in five dogs, and collagen barrier membranes were placed over the DBBM and PTG grafts at two experimental sites and over a nongrafted site. Four weeks later, the same procedures were performed on the contralateral mandible, and the animals allowed to heal for a further 4 weeks, after which they were sacrificed and their mandibles with graft/control sites harvested for histologic evaluation. Both types of grafted biomaterials significantly enhanced the defect fill with newly formed bone, but the bone-to-implant contact (BIC) was significantly increased only at sites that had been grafted with DBBM. The two experimental sites exhibited different healing patterns, with new bone formation being observed on the surface of the DBBM particles throughout the defect, while there was no de novo bone formation on the PTG surface, but rather appositional bone growth from the base and lateral walls of the defect. It has been suggested that gap-defect filling with DBBM around dental implants may enhance both BIC and defect fill; however, the present findings show that defect grafting with PTG enhances only defect fill and not BIC.