LAUSR

AIM To determine the effect of 1) implant placement timing and 2) the type of soft tissue graft in terms of ridge profile changes. MATERIALS AND METHODS Four implant treatment modalities were applied in the mesial root areas of the third and fourth mandibular premolars of ten mongrel dogs alongside connective-tissue graft (CTG) and volume-stable cross-linked collagen matrix (VCMX): immediate, early and delayed placement (DP) and DP following alveolar ridge preservation (ARP). All dogs were sacrificed 3 months after soft tissue augmentation. Standard Tessellation Language files from designated time points were analysed. RESULTS Compared with the pre-extraction situation, the median tissue width in the linear ridge increased only in group ARP/CTG (0.07 mm at the 2-mm level), whereas all other groups demonstrated reduction (between -1.87 mm and -0.09 mm, p>0.05). Groups ARP/CTG (0.17 mm) and DP/CTG (0.05 mm) exhibited a profilometric tissue gain in a set region of interest (p>0.05). The net effect of CTG and VCMX ranged from 0.14 mm to 0.79 mm. CONCLUSIONS Dimensional ridge changes varied between treatment protocols. ARP with CTG led to the smallest difference in ridge profile between the pre-extraction and the study end time point. Both CTG and VCMX enhanced the ridge contour. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.