Autogenous bone block in the treatment of teeth with hopeless prognosis

BACKGROUND: Autogenous bone graft, although considered as a gold standard, has been relegated to background because of limited quantity and donor site morbidity. Revival of interest in its use has been reflected by its tremendous capacity for regeneration in less than ideal situation. Bone blocks have been used for implant site augmentation, with varied success. AIM: Aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of autogenous bone block in the regeneration of bone, for saving teeth with a hopeless prognosis. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A total of six patients and 12 sites with grade II and III mobile teeth were treated with autogenous bone blocks and fiber splinting. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Attachment loss, probing depths, and radiographic bone loss were recorded at baseline and at 12 months interval. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The Student paired t test was used for evaluation of the changes from baseline to 12 months. RESULTS: At 12 months post-operatively, there was a highly significant amount of bone gain as compared to the baseline. The mean amount of bone loss reduced from 9.41 ± 1.16 to 5.41 ± 1.01. The clinical attachment loss reduced from 7.37 ± 1.24 mm to 3.79 ± 0.89 mm and probing depth reduced from 7 ± 1.67 mm to 5.5 ± 0.63 mm. The grafted bone was observed to have been incorporated with the host bone in most of the sites as evidenced by radiographs. CONCLUSIONS: For teeth with hopeless prognosis, this method can be considered to be a very viable alternative to extraction and replacement by costly implants.