Abstract:

Background: Alveolar ridge preservation (ARP) is a method used to reduce the external resorption of the ridge and increase bone deposition in the post-extraction site. Recently, dense polytetrafluoroethylene (d-PTFE) membranes have been adopted for ARP. This research investigates the application of d-PTFE membranes for ARP.
Methods: The randomized clinical trial with parallel groups and 1:1 allocation comprised 40 patients requiring premolar or molar tooth extraction, equally divided into experimental and control groups. The surgical protocol included atraumatic tooth extraction in both groups, followed by unassisted socket healing in the control group and ARP with a d-PTFE barrier in the experimental group. Cone-beam computed tomography was used to evaluate the vertical resorption in the groups for 3 months.
Results: ARP with d-PTFE membranes successfully reduced the vertical post-extraction resorption. For the buccal plate, it was 1.05 ± 0.6 mm in the d-PTFE group and 3.47 ± 1.96 mm in the control group, while for the oral plate it was 1.08 ± 0.6 mm (d-PTFE) and 2.1 ± 1.1 mm (control). The determining factor for post-extraction resorption is socket management.
Conclusion: Socket sealing with d-PTFE membranes is an effective ARP method. However, it cannot completely compensate for the influence of the socket plate width on post-extraction resorption.
Keywords: alveolar ridge preservation; d-PTFE membranes; post-extraction resorption; guided regeneration; socket sealing