Histological Evaluation of the Healing Process of Various Bone Graft Materials after Engraftment into the Human Body

The purpose of this study was to measure the level of new bone formation induced by various bone graft materials to provide clinicians with more choices. The samples were divided into three groups: group 1 (n = 9: allograft + xenograft, DBX(®), San Francisco, CA, USA + Bio-Oss(®), Princeton, NJ, USA), group 2 (n = 10: xenograft, Bio-Oss(®)), and group 3 (n = 8: autogenous tooth bone graft, AutoBT(®), Korea Tooth Bank, Seoul, Korea). The average duration of evaluation was 9.56, 2.50, and 3.38 months, respectively. A tissue sample was taken from 27 patients during the second implant surgery. New bone formation was measured via histomorphometry, using a charge-coupled device camera, adaptor, and image analysis software. Total bone area, total area, and ((total bone area/total area) × 100) was measured to determine the extent of new bone formation. The mean value of the total bone area was 152,232.63 μm(2); the mean value of the total area was 1,153,696.46 μm(2); and the mean total bone area/total area ratio was 13.50%. In each comparison, there was no significant difference among the groups; no inflammation or complications were found in any of the groups. AutoBT(®), an autogenous tooth bone graft, resulted in a level of bone formation similar to that using allografts and xenografts.