Bone healing around implants placed in a jaw defect augmented with Bio-Oss. An experimental study in dogs

The present experiment was carried out to study some tissue reactions around implants that were placed in an edentulous ridge which had been augmented with deproteinized natural bovine cancellous bone mineral. In 4 male beagle dogs, the premolars in the right side of the mandible were extracted and a large buccal ridge defect was created by mechanical means. The bone plate at the lingual aspect of the defect was left intact. 5 months later, the distal 2/3 of the defect area was augmented with Bio‐Oss^® (Geistlich Sons Ltd, Wolhusen, Switzerland) mixed with a fibrin sealer (Tisseel^®, Immuno AG, Vienna, Austria). After 3 months of healing, 3 fixtures (Astra Tech AB, Mölndal, Sweden; TiO‐blast; 8×3.5 mm) were installed in the mandible; 2 were placed in the augmented portion and 1 was placed in the non‐augmented portion of the defect. After a healing period of 3 months, abutment connection was performed and a plaque control period initiated. 4 months later, the dogs were sacrificed and each implant region was dissected. The tissue samples were dehydrated, embedded in plastic, sectioned in the bucco‐lingual plane and examined in the light microscope. It was observed that osseointegration failed to occur to implant surfaces within an alveolar ridge portion previously augmented with Bio‐Oss^®. In the augmented portion of the crest, the graft particles were separated from the host tissue as well as from the implant by a well‐defined connective tissue capsule. Although the lingual aspect of all fixtures (test and control) was in contact with hard tissue at the time of installation, after 4 months of function, a deep vertical bone defect frequently had formed at the lingual surface of the implants. It was concluded that in this model (i) Bio‐Oss^® failed to integrate with the host bone tissue and (ii) no osseointegration occurred to the implants within the augmented portion of the crest.