Does Grafting the Jumping Gap in Immediately Placed Anterior Implants Using Vestibular Socket Therapy Influence the Labial Bone Thickness?

PURPOSE: There is no consensus in the literature on whether grafting the jumping gap (the distance between the inner surface of the labial bone plate and the implant surface) in immediately placed implants influences the thickness of the labial bone plate. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of particulate bone graft filling material and spontaneous bone healing following blood clot formation when placing immediate implants in the esthetic zone.

METHODS

A double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in a private practice on patients scheduled for immediate implant placement using the vestibular socket therapy between November and December 2019. Participants were assigned to 2 groups. In Group 1, the jumping gap was filled with a mixture of 75% autogenous bone chips and 25% deproteinized bovine bone mineral (DBBM). In Group 2, the gap was unfilled. The regenerated facial bone thickness was evaluated using CBCT. Measurements were taken at baseline before tooth extraction and 12 months postoperatively. The Mann Whitney U test was used for between group comparisons and Wilcoxon signed-rank test for within-group comparisons.

RESULTS

Twenty-two patients (8 men and 14 women; mean age, 45.22 years) were randomly assigned to Group 1 or Group 2, with 11 patients each. A statistically significant difference in bone thickness was found between groups (P = .008). The mean (SD) overall bone thickness was 2.95 (0.97) mm for the particulate bone group compared to 1.45 (0.92) mm preoperatively. While, for the unfilled group, the mean (SD) overall bone thickness was 1.98 (0.56) mm compared to 0.79 (0.49) mm preoperatively.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggested that grafting the jumping gap with particulate bone graft when implementing the vestibular socket therapy enhanced the thickness of the labial bone plate of immediately placed implants in the esthetic zone.