Comparative study of the osseointegration of dental implants after different bone augmentation techniques: vascularized femur flap, non-vascularized femur graft and mandibular bone graft

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the osseointegration of the dental implants placed into the mandible augmented with different techniques in pigs. Four adult domestic pigs were used. Horizontal augmentation of the mandible was performed in animals by using vascularized femur flap (VFF), non-vascularized femur graft (NVFG) and monocortical mandibular block graft (MG). After 5 months of healing 10 dental implants were placed into each augmented site. The pigs were sacrificed after 3 months of healing. Undecalcified sections were prepared for histomorphometric analysis. Mean bone-implant contact (BIC) values for implants placed into MG, NVFG and VFF were 57.38 ± 11.97%, 76.5 ± 7.88%, 76.53 ± 8.15%, respectively. The BIC values of NVFG and VFF group were significantly greater than MG group (P<0.001). On the other hand, there was not statistically significant difference between NVFG group and VFF group (P=0.999). NVFG as well as VFF can be considered as a promising method for augmentation of alveolar defects and the placement of the implants. The selection of non-vascularized graft or vascularized flap depends on the condition of the recipient site.