Background: The aim of this prospective study was to assess the effectiveness of concentrated growth factors (CGF) in preventing the development of alveolar osteitis (AO) after the extraction of partially-erupted mandibular third molars. Methods: Seventy patients (26 men and 44 women) 18 years or older (mean age 25.86; range 18–35) underwent 140 third molar extractions. All the patients presented with bilateral, partially-erupted mandibular third molars and underwent surgical extractions. In each case, one socket received CGF and the other served as a control. The predictor variable was the CGF application and the sides were categorized as ‘CGF’ and ‘non-CGF’. The outcome variable was the development of AO during the first postoperative week. Other study variables included age and gender. Data were analyzed using Cochran’s Q test with the significance level set at a P value less than 0.05. Results: The overall frequency of AO was 11.4% for the control group. The frequency of AO in the CGF group was significantly lower than in the non-CGF group (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, application of CGF fibrin gel may decrease the risk of AO development after mandibular third molar surgery. Trial registration: This study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov database on November 1, 2019 (ID: NCT04151147, retrospectively registered).
1 November 2020 in Journal of Stomatology Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
To evaluate the effect on vertical bone augmentation of the screw tent-pole technique using particulate allograft in combination with injectable platelet-rich fibrin, and to compare this with autogenous block bone graft. This split-mouth randomized controlled study involved patients with bilateral partial edentulism and vertical bone loss in the posterior mandible. In each patient, the control side was treated with autogenous block bone graft harvested from the mandibular ramus and, on the test side, the screw tent-pole technique was employed, using particulate allograft in combination with injectable platelet-rich fibrin. All augmented sites were covered by leukocyte and platelet-rich fibrin membrane. The primary outcome variable of this study was the radiographic changes to bone height 6 months after augmentation. The secondary outcome variables were the percentage of newly formed bone and the implant survival rate. The data were analyzed with a significance level of α = 0.05. Of the 13 patients included, a total of 11 patients (7 females, 4 males; mean age 50.92) completed the study. The mean values of vertical bone gain were 1.72 ± 0.78 mm for the test group and 2.83 ± 0.89 mm for the control group, which constitutes a significant difference (P = .008). The percentage of newly formed bone was 18.08% ± 2.17% for the test group and 14.26% ± 1.76% for the control group. The difference between the groups was statistically significant (P < .001). The implant survival rates were 100% for both study groups. Based on the study results, screw tent-pole can be considered a feasible technique for bone augmentation. Further randomized studies will be necessary to fully evaluate vertical bone augmentation using the screw tent-pole technique, with different graft materials and with larger samples.