Equivalent Outcomes Following Submerged or Trans-Mucosal Guided Bone Regeneration Procedures Using a Bioactive Collagen Membrane: A Prospective Case Series.

Purpose: This case series aimed to compare the clinical and radiographic outcomes of patients receiving two different healing strategies for their guided bone regeneration (GBR) procedures using a novel collagen membrane to support the implant placement.

Materials and methods: A total of 20 patients (27 implants) were included. They either received transmucosal (n = 10; 11 teeth) or submerged (n = 10; 16 teeth) GBR procedures. A standardized cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan protocol was performed immediately post-surgery and in a follow-up visit at 4-6 months post-surgery. The distance from the implant shoulder to the first bone-to-implant contact on the sides of the implant (DIB), the horizontal dimension of the buccal alveolar crests, complication rate, pain score, and quality of newly formed bone in the submerged group, were reported.

Results: Healing at all implant sites was uneventful, with mild swelling and inflammation within normal post-surgical limits. Between-group quantitative analysis of CBCT images obtained immediately post-surgery (CBCT1) and at 4-6 months later (CBCT2) showed no statistical difference in any parameter. Facial bone wall thickness at 1, 3 & 5mm below the implant shoulder significantly decreased in both submerged and trans-mucosal procedure participants in CBCT2 compared to CBCT1.

Conclusions: Outcomes of GBR treatment are consistent with established clinical and preclinical evidence for the safety and performance of collagen barrier membranes in either submerged or trans-mucosal GBR procedures and these two different healing strategies exhibited similar clinical and radiographic outcomes.