| Background. Calcium sulfate (CS) is a biologically compatible, osteo-conductive graft material that may bind underlying bone graft and provide space maintenance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate CS as a barrier compared to a collagen membrane (CM) for augmentation of a standardized surgically created ridge defect.; Methods. Six foxhounds were used as subjects. Extractions of mandibular premolars 1, 2, 3 and 4 were performed bilaterally. After 8 weeks, standardized osseous ridge defects were created using a 6 mm trephine. A total of 24 defects were created and allocated to three groups: autogenous bone covered by CM, autogenous bone covered by CS barrier, and non-augmented control sites (Ctrl). Five animals were sacrificed 12 weeks after the augmentation procedures, and sites were evaluated histologically for total area, width, percentage of bone and cortical bone thickness.; Results. Twenty sites were available for evaluation. All sites exhibited some bony fill within the defect. Comparison of findings revealed no statistically significant differences in mean total area (CM=12.2 mm2, Ctrl=11.9 mm2, CS=11.6 mm2), width, percentage of bone (CS=38.2%, Ctrl=37.9%, CM=36.3%) or cortical bone thickness (Ctrl=0.49-1.43 mm, CS=0.56-1.38 mm, CM=0.41-1.06 mm).; Conclusions. The results of this study indicated that osseous regeneration of an alveolar ridge defect was comparable for sites treated using autogenous bone graft with a barrier of calcium sulfate or collagen membrane. There were no statistically significant differences in terms of surface area, percent bone fill, width, or cortical bone thickness within the defect.; Key words. Guided bone regeneration, ridge augmentation, calcium sulfate, collagen membrane... |
