Influence of a collagen membrane versus a collagen plug in quality of bone regeneration in extraction sockets

Background: Collagen barriers play an important role in protection of grafted sites, however quality of bone regeneration depends upon the bone graft material and type of collagen barrier used.

Aim: To evaluate the difference between bone quality in extraction socket protected by collagen membrane and collagen plugs.

Setting and design: Four study groups were created each comprising of 10 sockets; group 1 with 10 sockets grafted with Bio-Oss bone graft (Geistlich Pharma AG, Wolhusen, Switzerland) and preserved with collagen membrane, in group 2, 10 sockets were grafted with Bio-Oss bone graft and preserved with collagen plug, in group 3, 10 sockets were grafted with Ti-oss bone graft (Ti-oss, Gyeonggido, South Korea) and preserved with a collagen membrane and in group 4, 10 sockets were grafted with Ti-oss bone graft and preserved with collagen plug. The collagen plugs used were Rapi plug, (Dalim Pharma, Seoul, South Korea) and the membranes used were Ossix plus collagen membrane (Datum Dental, Israel)

Materials and Methods Trephine biopsies were taken of the sites and submitted for histopathological examination after being fixed in neutral buffered formalin for 24 hours. Four-micron thick sections were obtained and stained using routine Hematoxylin and eosin stain.  The slides were observed with a research microscope (Olympus BX 53).

Result Histological results demonstrated mature bone in all the specimens taken from the 4 groups.

Conclusion: A membrane protected site has better quality of bone regeneration especially with a long-lasting barrier membrane such as Ossix plus, nonetheless, it all depends upon the resorption rate of the collagen barrier used.