Vertical ridge augmentation using an equine bone and collagen block infused with recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-BB: a randomized single-masked histologic study in non-human primates

Background: This study tests the effectiveness of hydroxyapatite and collagen bone blocks of equine origin (eHAC), infused with recombinant human platelet‐derived growth factor‐BB (rhPDGF‐BB), to augment localized posterior mandibular defects in non‐human primates (Papio hamadryas). Methods: Bilateral critical‐sized defects simulating severe atrophy were created at the time of the posterior teeth extraction. Test and control blocks (without growth factor) were randomly grafted into the respective sites in each non‐human primate. Results: All sites exhibited vertical ridge augmentation, with physiologic hard‐ and soft‐tissue integration of the blocks when clinical and histologic examinations were done at 4 months after the vertical ridge augmentation procedure. There was a clear, although non‐significant, tendency to increased regeneration in the test sites. As in the first two preclinical studies in this series using canines, experimental eHAC blocks infused with rhPDGF‐BB proved to be a predictable and technically viable method to predictably regenerate bone and soft tissue in critical‐sized defects. Conclusion: This investigation supplies additional evidence that eHAC blocks infused with rhPDGF‐BB growth factor is a predictable and technically feasible option for vertical augmentation of severely resorbed ridges.