Histologic Evaluation of Soft and Hard Tissue Healing Following Alveolar Ridge Preservation with Deproteinized Bovine Bone Mineral Covered with Xenogenic Collagen Matrix

The purpose of this study was to histologically evaluate new bone formation and dimensional soft tissue changes of two different healing protocols (16 weeks and 32 weeks) using deproteinized bovine bone mineral (DBBM) covered with collagen matrix (CM) for alveolar ridge preservation in the anterior esthetic zone prior to dental implant placement. Compared to baseline, both treatments yielded statistically significant differences in several clinical parameters and in the microarchitecture of the native bone and in the newly formed bone in the augmented sites. However, the protocol at 32 weeks determined greater new vital bone formation and fewer dimensional tissue changes.