Assessment of vertical ridge augmentation in anterior aesthetic zone using onlay xenografts with titanium mesh versus the inlay bone grafting technique: A randomized clinical trial

The aim of this study was to evaluate the final vertical gain at the deficient anterior maxillary alveolar ridges using onlay bone grafts with titanium mesh versus inlay bone grafting. This was a single institutional randomized comparative clinical trial. The study population included 16 patients, with edentulous anterior maxillary alveolar ridges (40 implant sites) who were presented and treated at the Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine in Cairo University from September 2013 to August 2015. Selected patients were randomly divided into two equal groups. The control group received onlay particulate xenograft together with titanium mesh as a space-maintaining device while the study group received inlay block xenograft (sandwich osteotomy) fixed with mini-plates. Assessment using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) included the mean percentage of vertical gain at the proposed implant sites after 6 months taken from cross-sectional cuts. A total of 40 delayed implant placements were done. Results showed that there was no statistical significance between the two groups (P = 0.2); the mean percentage of 6 months postoperative vertical bone gain in the control group was 20.7% and that in the study group was 31.6%.