Preservation of dental sockets filled with composite bovine bone. A single-blind randomized clinical trial

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the preservation of alveolar dimensions in human fresh extraction sockets filled with a composite bovine bone graft by means of design of single-blind randomized clinical trial. Forty participants had monoradicular teeth extracted (one teeth in each participant), and after were randomly divided into 2 groups: individuals whose fresh sockets were filled with the composite heterologous bone graft (Biomaterial Group), or with blood clot (Control Group). After extraction, the fresh sockets were measured at their greatest mesiodistal (MD) and bucco-lingual/palatal (BL/P) distance. Primary closure of the soft tissue was performed with a fibro-mucosal plug. After 120 post-operative days, the re-entry procedure was performed and the largest MD and BL/P measurements were again obtained to calculate the remodeling of the alveolar bone measured in percentage. In the biomaterial group, a percentage reduction of 1.62% and 3.29% in the MD and BL/P dimensions was observed 120 days after the extractions, whereas a reduction of 4.97% and 7.18% in the MD and BL/P dimensions occurred in the control group. There was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between the two groups for the bucco-palatal and mesiodistal measurements in the maxilla. In view of the results obtained, it can be concluded that composite bovine bone graft limited but did not impede alveolar bone remodeling.