Tomographic assessment of bone changes in atrophic maxilla treated by split-crest technique and dental implants with platelet-rich fibrin and NanoBone® versus platelet-rich fibrin alone: Randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the clinical benefits of adding NanoBone® with split-crest technique and simultaneous implant placement covered with platelet-rich fibrin membrane in horizontally deficient maxillary ridges in terms of crestal and horizontal bone changes and patient morbidity. METHODS: Forty patients indicated for maxillary ridge splitting and simultaneous implant placement were assigned randomly to the study groups: control group (Platelet Rich Fibrin membrane) and test group (Platelet Rich Fibrin membrane + Nanobone®). The Cone Beam Computed Tomography Fusion technique was utilized to assess crestal and horizontal bone changes after five months of the surgical procedure. Patient morbidity was recorded for one week post-surgical. RESULTS: Five months post-surgical, buccal crestal bone resorption was 1.26 ± 0.58 mm for the control group and 1.14 ± 0.63 mm for the test group. Lingual crestal bone resorption was 1.40 ± 0.66 mm for the control group and 1.47 ± 0.68 mm for the test group. Horizontal bone width gain was 1.46 ± 0.44 mm for the control group and 1.29 ± 0.73 mm for the test group. There was no significant statistical difference between study groups regarding crestal and horizontal bone changes and patient morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: The tomographic assessment of NanoBone® addition in this study resulted in no statistically significant difference between study groups regarding crestal and horizontal bone changes and patient morbidity. More randomized controlled clinical trials on gap fill comparing different bone grafting materials versus no grafting should be conducted. GOV REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02836678, 13th January 2017.

Clinical Evaluation of the Coronally Advanced Lingual Flap Technique for Maintaining Primary Wound Closure Over Titanium Mesh After Guided Bone Regeneration: A Randomized Control Trial.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of the coronally advanced lingual flap (CALF) technique in terms of the extent of lingual and buccal flap advancement, the maintenance of primary wound closure, and safety in comparison to buccal flap advancement alone during horizontal ridge augmentation in the posterior mandible. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 14 patients were randomly allocated to two different groups: buccal flap advancement without the CALF technique (control), referred to as the NO-CALF group, and buccal flap advancement with the CALF technique (test), referred to as the CALF group. Wound healing was monitored weekly for the first 4 weeks, then at 2, 4, 6, and 9 months postoperatively for any soft tissue dehiscence (titanium mesh [TM] exposure) along the incision line. The extent of lingual and buccal flap advancement was measured, and any intraoperative and postoperative CALF-related complications were reported. RESULTS: The difference between groups was statistically significant (P < .0001) in terms of (1) TM exposure: 83.3% of cases in the NO-CALF group showed early Class П exposures, whereas the CALF group showed no exposure; (2) mean lingual flap advancement: 3.9 ± 1.1 mm and 14.4 ± 3.8 mm for the NO-CALF and CALF groups, respectively; and (3) mean buccal flap advancement: 15.8 ± 2.1 mm and 10.5 ± 1.4 mm for the NO-CALF and CALF groups, respectively. There were no reported complications related to the CALF technique. CONCLUSION: Tension-free primary wound closure was facilitated and maintained during the healing period by applying the CALF technique, which is a reliable technique to safely advance the lingual flap coronally.