title: Ridge alterations following immediate implant placement in the dog: flap versus flapless surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the healing process after flap or flapless surgery in immediate implant placement.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was carried out on five Beagle dogs. Four implants were placed in the lower jaw in each dog immediately after tooth extraction. Flap surgery was performed before the extraction on one side (control), and flapless on the contrary (test). After 3 months of healing, the dogs were sacrificed and prepared for histological analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten implants were placed in each group. Two failed (one of each group). The percentage of bone-implant contact was very similar in both groups: 64.8% and 65.1% for the flap and the flapless group, respectively. The difference between the mean distance from the peri-implant mucosa margin to the first bone-implant contact at the buccal aspect was statistically significant between both groups (3.02 mm. flapless and 3.69 mm. flap group). The mean first bone-implant contact at the buccal aspect was located in relation to the sand-blasted and acid-etched level at 0.82 mm for the flapless group and 1.33 mm for the flap group. This difference was not statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Flapless immediate implant surgery produces a significant reduction in the vestibular biologic width and a minor reduction in buccal bone plate resorption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Estomatology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago, Spain. jblanco@blancoramos.net
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.forename: Vanesa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nuñez
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aracil
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ramos
mesh_terms: D000539:Alveolar Process / Q000166:cytology / Q000601:surgery*; D000818:Animals; D001861:Bone Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D001862:Bone Resorption / Q000209:etiology*; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous / Q000379:methods*; D015921:Dental Implants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008334:Mandible; D016348:Osseointegration / Q000502:physiology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D015921:Dental Implants