Introduction

After tooth loss, alveolar bone resorption can lead to deficient ridges, affecting the success of future dental implants. Horizontal/lateral ridge augmentation for the regeneration of resorbed bone has yielded highly predictable results.

In the "simultaneous" approach (augmentation and implant placement together), guided bone regeneration (GBR) is preferred and leads to better results than other methods (Sanz-Sanchez et al. 2015, Thoma et al. 2019, Jung et al. 2021). This is true regardless of the biomaterial used (Calciolari et al. 2023), although some resorption of the augmented bone will occur. Using a composite bone graft, such as a xenograft mixed with particulate autologous bone, can help reduce this resorption.

In the "staged" approach, autologous bone blocks are often used but come with higher morbidity (due to a second surgical site), more postoperative complications, and varying degrees of graft resorption during healing (Sanz-Sanchez et al. 2015).

Vertical bone augmentation, both simultaneous as well as staged, is more technically sensitive, less predictable, and has a higher rate of complications (Urban et al. 2019). A GBR technique seems to achieve greater bone gain than bone blocks and Ti-meshes in the staged approach, with less resorption (Alotaibi et al. 2023). Moreover, the GBR technique appears to show fewer complications (healing and surgical) than others for vertical bone augmentation (Sáez-Alcaide et al. 2023).​​​

The question is whether L-PRF matrices can improve the outcome of these procedures.​​