The Impact of Compaction Force on Graft Consolidation in a Guided Bone Regeneration Model

Purpose: Compaction of particulated grafts is done manually; thus, the effect of compression force on bone regeneration remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of two different compression forces on the consolidation of particulated bovine hydroxyapatite. Materials and Methods: Two titanium cylinders were fixed on the calvarium of eight New Zealand rabbits. Both defects were filled with particulated bovine hydroxyapatite subjected to a compression force of 0.7 kg/cm² or 1.6 kg/cm² before being covered with a resorbable collagen membrane. A handheld device that uses a spring to control the compression force applied by the plugger was used. At 6 weeks, histomorphometry of the area immediately adjacent to the calvaria bone and to the collagen membrane was performed. Results: It was shown that next to the calvaria, the bone volume per tissue volume (BV/TV) was 29.0% ± 8.8% and 27.6% ± 8.2% at low and high compression force, respectively; the bone-to-biomaterial contact (BBC) was 58.2% ± 25.0% and 69.3% ± 22.9%, respectively (P > .05). In the corresponding area next to the collagen membrane, BV/TV was 4.9% ± 5.1% and 5.7% ± 4.7%, and the BBC was 18.3% ± 20.8% and 20.1% ± 15.9%, respectively (P > .05). In addition, the number and area of blood vessels were not significantly affected by compression force. Conclusion: Both compression forces applied resulted in similar consolidation of bovine hydroxyapatite expressed by new bone formation and vascularization based on a rabbit calvaria augmentation model. Keywords: bone regeneration, compaction, compression force, particulated bone graft