Acellular Collagen Matrix as a Tool to Obtain Wound Closure Following a Guided Bone Regeneration Procedure

Guided bone regeneration (GBR) is a procedure used to increase the amount of bone volume in the jaw before placing a dental implant. It is needed when a lot of bone has been lost around the spot where a tooth has been lost or extracted.

An incision is made, bone grafting material is placed in that spot, there is a membrane put over it as a barrier, then gum tissue has to be pulled back over it. Usually, this is enough to cover the whole wound, but sometimes the barrier membrane can't be covered with tissue the whole way without too much pulling, and the barrier membrane is still exposed.

In that case, one thing that can be done is to place another material, an acellular collagen matrix, over the barrier membrane and secure it there. This material has been shown to help with the healing in these cases.

Participants in this study will be clinic patients who have been determined to need a GBR procedure. Participants will get the GBR. If the barrier membrane is still exposed, then the acellular matrix material will be placed. This study will compare the healing outcomes and the success of the GBR depending on whether the acellular matrix material was used. The procedure itself is not part of the study. The only people in the study are patients who are already planning to have this procedure done as part of their dental care.

It is important to note that the research study will not affect the care that the patient is given, or whether or not the acellular matrix material is used. That will be decided by the dental surgeon who is treating them, based on their clinical judgement. The research study will only observe and compare the outcomes.

For the study, participants will have some additional clinical measurements made, besides the ones that are done as part of the follow-up care, and will be asked questions about their experience.