Is transmucosal healing of an implant as effective as submerged healing when simultaneous guided bone regeneration is performed? A preclinical study

Abstract Aim To investigate whether transmucosal healing is as effective as submerged healing in terms of buccal bone regeneration when guided bone regeneration (GBR) is performed simultaneously with implant placement. Materials and Methods In six dogs, buccal dehiscence defects were created in the edentulous mandibular ridge, sized 5 × 5 × 3 mm (length × height × depth). In each defect, a bone‐level implant was placed, and four experimental groups were randomly assigned as follows: (i) transmucosal healing with GBR (T‐GBR), (ii) transmucosal healing without GBR (T‐control), (iii) submerged healing with GBR (S‐GBR) and (iv) submerged healing without GBR (S‐control). Data analyses were based on histological slides 5 months after implant placement. Results The T‐GBR group showed significant differences compared to the control groups regarding defect height resolution, buccal bone thickness and mineralized tissue area ( p < .05), but showed no significant differences when compared with the S‐GBR group ( p > .05). Conclusions The mode of healing (transmucosal vs. submerged) does not influence bone regeneration at implant sites. The clinician may therefore choose the approach based on further clinical and patient‐specific parameters.