Nonresorbable sintered ceramic hydroxylapatite (HA) is widely employed for filling defects in jaw bone. The small particles used for alveolar ridge augmentation in edentulous patients or for infrabony defects due to periodontal disease tend to scatter when implanted using water or saline as the vehicle. Larger blocks of this material used for filling sockets after tooth extraction don't fit well. Studies in our laboratory where we compared bovine serum albumin, collagen and plaster of Paris as binders to prevent particle scatter during implantation suggested that plaster was most useful for this purpose. In addition to preventing scatter of the particles, plaster enables the formation of implants of any size and.shape either prior to or during surgery. Studies with the PATS reaction have indicated that plaster acts as a scaffold for the incorporation of HA particles into bone in areas where the implant contacts either host bone or periosteum. The shape and integrity of the implant is maintained by the plaster component until it is replaced over a period of days by fibrovascular tissue.
Evaluation by 3D stereophotogrammetry of facial changes in edentulous patients after rehabilitation
