Three-dimensional Bone Regeneration Using Custom-made Meshes With and Without Collagen Membrane

The presence of alveolar ridge deficiencies is considered major limitation to achieve an implant-prosthetic restoration with high aesthetics and stability over time. Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR) can be considered an effective solution for bone augmentation. The most advanced technology of GBR is the customized titanium mesh, which is developed with a fully digital work flow system. The aim of this study is to evaluate complications and bone augmentation rates after GBR, based on customized meshes with or without collagen membranes. After ethical committee approval, 30 patients with horizontal and/or vertical bone defects were enrolled and treated according to the study protocol. During reconstructive surgery (T0), patients were randomly divided into two study groups: 15 patients were treated by means of a custom-made mesh without collagen membrane (Group A - Control Group), while 15 patients were treated by means of a custom-made titanium mesh with a collagen membrane (Group B - Test Group). All sites were grafted with a mixture 50:50 of autogenous bone and xenograft and primary closures of surgical sites were obtained to ensure a submerged healing of the meshes. After 6 months (T1), re-entry surgery was completed to remove the meshes, evaluate the augmented volume and to place implants in the augmented sites. After 3 months (T2), soft tissue management was accomplished with implant exposure and a connective tissue graft, before prosthetic restoration (T3). Data collection included surgical and healing complications, planned bone volume (PBV) and reconstructed bone volume (RBV), pseudo-periosteum type, bone density, implant success, and crestal bone loss. A statistical analysis of recorded data was performed to investigate any statistically significant differences between the study group and statistical significance was set at a=0.05.