Background: Bone volume affects the long term success of an implant. Augmentation of the existing edentulous alveolar bone is often necessary to obtain excellent functional and esthetic restorations of the implants. The reconstruction of alveolar ridges for implant placement is still a challenging procedure, especially in the case of extensive vertical and horizontal atrophy. Here, we aimed to evaluate the effect of EDTA bone demineralization on bone graft consolidation to the native bone in comparison to alveolar bone decortication.
Methods: A total of 14 subjects were divided into two groups (n = 14) . In the test group I (n = 7), alveolar cortical bone in the area of regeneration was demineralized by 24% EDTA. While, decortication was performed in group II (n = 7). Subsequently, defects in both groups were augmented by guided bone regeneration using resorbable membrane and bovine bone. After a healing period of 6 months, trephine cores were harvested for histological and histomorphometric analysis of the grafted areas and the buccolingual width dimension was evaluated radiographically
Results: Histomorphometrical analysis demonstrated that the amount of newly formed bone in the test group (3.63±1.35 %) was greater than that in group II (2.52±0.78 %), and the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.029)
Conclusions: Bone demineralization results in more width gain than mechanically decorticating the alveolar bone.