The immediate replacement of teeth by dental implants using homologous bone membranes to seal the sockets: clinical and radiographic findings

Placement of dental implants into fresh extraction sockets has several advantages compared to the original protocol. However, the soft-tissue handling is often complicated and the aesthetic results less rewarding. A method to use a homologous bone membrane as the sole sealer of the extraction socket after immediate implant placement is introduced and the outcome of 34 cases is presented. In 4 cases early losses of the membranes occurred (2 of these iatrogenic damage) in all other cases the homologous membranes were covered by proliferation of the surrounding mucosa within 2-4 weeks. In 2 of the 4 cases where the membranes were lost, the implants did not integrate, in the other 2 cases the implants did integrate but the sockets did not fill completely with bone and the aesthetic results were not acceptable. In all other cases bone filling of the socket occurred, the implants were stable at 180 days after insertion (functional success rate 94.1%) and the aesthetic results were excellent. The method thus seems very promising but the healing process is delicate and the operation site highly vulnerable during the first postoperative weeks. It should also be stressed that the present study offers conclusions neither about the quality of the newly formed bone nor about the quality of osseointegration offered by this bone.