Clinical and Radiographic Evaluation of Demineralized Freeze-Dried Cancellous Block Allograft for Ridge Augmentation: A Pilot Study.

Bone resorption after tooth extraction is a common problem in implant dentistry. Allografts are one of the therapeutic techniques used to reconstruct the deficient ridge. Although this technique eliminates the need for a surgical donor site, it has yielded contradictory results. The aim of the present pilot study was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic results of the use of demineralized freeze-dried cancellous block allografts (DFDCBAs) in lateral ridge augmentation. Seven patients were included in this study. Lateral reconstruction of bone was performed using DFDCBA with stabilizing screws and resorbable collagen membranes. The ridge width was initially measured during the augmentation surgery. A second measurement was taken 6 months later at the time of implant placement. In addition, cone bean computed tomography images were used at both baseline and at 6-month reentry for measuring the width of bone by applying an acrylic stent with a radiopaque marker at the edentulous area. Paired t test was used to evaluate the statistical differences. The mean increase in the clinical and radiographic ridge widths were 1.70 ± 1.90 and 1.28 ± 1.52 mm, respectively, which were not statistically significant (P = 0.56 and P = 0.067, respectively). The results showed that the use of DFDCBAs in conjunction with resorbable membrane does not yield predictable results in the reconstruction of ridge width deficiencies.