In this prospective pilot study on ridge preservation (RP), a collagen sponge was placed to fill the bottom half of the socket, followed by a sequence of bone graft, collagen membrane, and a sponge placed on top. Twelve patients with 13 hopeless posterior teeth were included. Changes in bone dimension (including variations of horizontal ridge width [HRW] and bone height [BH]) between the time immediately postextraction (T0) and 6 months later (T6M) were evaluated through CBCT. The soft tissue was assessed using a wound healing index (WHI) at 2 weeks (T2W), 2 months (T2M), and 6 months (T6M) postsurgery. Measured at three parallel levels (1, 3, and 5 mm apical to the crest of the palatal plate), the mean HRW changes (T0 to T6M) ranged from 0.47 to 1.05 mm. Statistically significant negative correlations were observed between WHI (T6M) and midcrestal BH change. This proposed RP technique showed favorable outcomes regarding HRW and BH, even in periodontally compromised dehiscence sockets.
