Comparative study of the osseous healing process following three different techniques of bone augmentation in the mandible: an experimental study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the osseointegration of three different bone grafting techniques. Forty-eight mature New Zealand rabbits were divided randomly into three groups of 16 each. Horizontal augmentation was performed on the corpus of the mandible using three different techniques: free bone graft (FBG), free periosteal bone graft (PBG), pedicled bone flap (BF). The animals were sacrificed at postoperative weeks 1, 3, or 8. Specimens were decalcified for histological examination, and histomorphometric measurements were performed. The histological evaluation demonstrated bony fusion between the grafts and the augmented mandibular bone after 8 weeks in all groups. At week 8, the bone volume was significantly greater in the BF group than in the FBG (P < 0.001) and PBG (P = 0.001) groups, and also the trabecular thickness was significantly greater than in the FBG (P = 0.015) and PBG (P = 0.015) groups. Trabecular separation was significantly lower in the BF group than in the FBG group at week 8 (P = 0.015). BF demonstrated greater osseous healing capacity compared to FBG and PBG. The preserved vascularization in BF improves the bone quality in mandibular bone augmentations.