Effects of hard‐ and/or soft‐tissue grafting with early implant placement: Histomorphometric outcomes of an exploratory study in canines

Abstract

ObjectiveTo histomorphometrically determine the effects of hard‐ and/or soft‐tissue augmentation by applying the early implant placement protocol.Materials and MethodsThe distal roots of the maxillary second and third premolars were extracted in 10 mongrel dogs. After 1 month, early implant placement was performed in the distal roots, resulting in buccal dehiscence defects. Four treatments were then randomly applied: (1) guided bone regeneration (GBR), (2) connective tissue grafting (CTG), (3) simultaneous GBR and CTG (GBR + CTG) and (4) no further treatment (control). Healing abutments were connected to all implants to allow non‐submerged healing. At 4 and 16 weeks, tissue sections were harvested and histomorphometric analyses were performed.ResultsGroup GBR presented the largest total tissue thickness at 4 weeks, but underwent a greater remodelling compared with the other groups between 4 and 16 weeks. At 16 weeks, the overall tissue thickness was largest in group GBR + CTG. This group was also the most favourable in terms of the level of the margo mucosae and the presence of mineralized tissue at the coronal level. Group CTG demonstrated a stable tissue thickness over time, with a larger thickness at 16 weeks compared with group GBR.ConclusionSimultaneous CTG and GBR resulted in the most‐favourable tissue thickness when applying the early implant placement protocol.