A Comparative Study of Bone Resorption between Implant Placement Sites and Non-Implant Placement Sites after Autogenous Block Bone Grafts in the Anterior Maxilla

The aim of this study was to compare the bone resorption differences between implant placement sites (IPS) and non-implant placement sites (NIPS) after autogenous block bone grafts in the anterior maxilla. Fourteen patients (58 edentulous sites) with alveolar atrophy in the anterior maxilla were treated with autogenous block bone grafts. CBCT examinations were performed at 1 month before surgery (T0), immediately after surgery (T1), 3 to 4 months after surgery (T2), 6 to 7 months after surgery before implant placement (T3), 12 to 13 months after surgery (T4), and the longest follow-up point (T5). Alveolar crestal and basal bone width (ACBW, ABBW), and alveolar bone height (ABH) were measured and divided into IPS (30 sites) and NIPS (28 sites). All results were compared by the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test. The bone resorption changes for both groups were the same. For these three parameters, ACBW didn’t change significantly from T2 to T3 and T4 to T5, ABBW didn’t change at every period from T2 to T5, and ABH didn’t change from T4 to T5. The bone resorption volume of ACBW and ABH in NIPS were more than in IPS after implant placement surgery, while the volume of ABBW was similar in both groups. At T5, the bone resorption percentages of ACBW, ABBW, and ABH were 25.57%, 16.85% and 43.84% in IPS, and 33.55%, 15.92% and 46.44% in NIPS. A more rapid loss of alveolar crest in NIPS resulted from implant placement surgery, and this reminded us of the importance of immediate implant placement.