Effectiveness of guided bone regeneration and protein collagen sponge on socket preservation post tooth-extraction

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR) and Protein Collagen Sponge (PCS) on socket preservation following tooth extraction. Methods: Teeth of 12 patients were grouped into three groups and received corresponding treatment, with at least 3 teeth in each patient (n=40). All treatments were performed immediately after teeth extraction. Sockets in Groups 1 and 2 were treated with PCS and GBR respectively while sockets in Group 3 did not receive any preservative treatment. Alveolar crestal width and height before extraction and 8-week post-extraction and bone densities 8-week post extraction were measured with Cone Beam CT (CBCT). Changes of alveolar crestal width and height were calculated by subtracting the value 8-week post extraction with the value before extraction. Results: All extraction sockets healed without signs of inflammation. Changes in alveolar crestal width and height were not significantly different between Groups 1 and 2 (both P<0.05), but both significantly smaller than that in Group 3 (all P<0.05). Bone density of Group 1 was significantly higher than that in Group 3 (P<0.05), while bone density of Group 2 was significantly higher than those in Group 1 (P<0.05) and Group 3 (P<0.05) Conclusions: PCS exerts comparable effects on socket preservation after tooth extraction with GBR. Since the cost for PCS is much lower than that of GBR, PCS can be used as an alternative to GBR for wider application in oral clinics.