Abstract:
Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of hyaluronic acid (HA) and xenografts on the repair of peri-implant dehiscence-type bone defects occur during implant placement. Patients and Methods: Forty-two dehiscence Class I type defects located on the buccal surface of the implants were included in this study. Defects were divided into two main groups as small sized (height of <3 mm) and medium sized (height between 3 and 5 mm). Both of the main groups were further divided into two subgroups as HA plus xenograft plus collagen membrane (HAXC) or xenograft plus collagen membrane (XC) applied groups. After grafting, repair of defect site was evaluated with the help of the cross-sectional images on cone-beam computed tomography at 6(th) and 12(th) months. Results: In both main groups, vertical bone height (VBH) was higher in defects repaired with HAXC (2.65 +/- 1.12 mm) than in the XC (2.45 +/- 1.10 mm) groups at the 6(th) month. However, the difference between two subgroups was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Reduction in VBH was observed up to 6-12 months after prosthetic loading in all defect sites. This reduction was found statistically significant in medium-sized defects that grafted with XC (P < 0.05, paired t-test). However, in other subgroups, the difference between measurements at 6(th) and 12(th) months was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Conclusions: According to the data obtained from this study, it can be concluded that HA did not have a significant positive effect on the repair of defects around dental implants.