Influence of ridge preservation on marginal bone loss in single unit implant restorations

Background: Single-unit implant restorations are considered as a standard of treatment for replacing a single missing tooth. One of the parameters determining the success of the treatment is the marginal bone loss around the implants. Aim/Hypothesis: The current study aims to determine the potential influence of socket preservation on peri-implant marginal bone loss after 12 months of functional loading in single-unit implant restorations. Materials and Methods: The study population included patients who received 96 single crowns on implants placed in tree groups even groups (n = 32) of bone-sites: 1) Preserved with allograft, 2) preserved with PRF 3) control, left to heal naturally. Parallel radiographs were made at baseline and 12 months after loading and were analyzed to evaluate the marginal bone loss at the mesial and distal side. A cumulative score and mean difference were calculated, and the groups were compared using Welch's one-way ANOVA. Results: The measured peri-implant marginal bone loss was 0.44 ± 0.16 mm for the control group, 0.48 ± 0.14 mm for the artificial bone and implants restored 0.42 ± 0.17 mm for PRF. Welch's one-way ANOVA showed no statistically significant difference between the studied groups [FWelch = 1.45, P = 0.241]. Conclusions and Clinical Implications: Within the limitations of the current study, it can be concluded that socket preservation techniques with allograft or PRF don't influence the peri-implant marginal bone level after functional loading for 12 months. Keywords: Ridge preservation, Marginal bone loss, PRF, allograft