Effects of lateral bone augmentation procedures on peri-implant health or disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: This systematic review evaluated the evidence on the effect of the interventions aimed for lateral ridge augmentation (both simultaneously with implant placement or as a staged procedure) on peri-implant health or disease.

Methods: A protocol was developed to answer the following PICO question: "In patients with horizontal alveolar ridge deficiencies (population), what is the effect of lateral bone augmentation procedures (intervention and comparison) on peri-implant health (outcome)?" Included studies were randomised controlled trials or controlled clinical trials with a follow-up of at least 12 months after implant loading. Meta-analyses were performed whenever possible, including subgroup analysis based on follow-up.

Results: Twelve final publications from eight investigations were included. The results from the meta-analysis indicated that irrespective of the type of intervention, the inflammatory changes, based on bleeding on probing (%) were minimal, both at short- (n = 1; weighted mean difference [WMD] = -1.00; 95% CI [-14.04; 12.04]; p = .881) and long-term (n = 5; WMD = -5.63; 95% CI [-18.42; 7.16]; p = .881). When comparing different treatment modalities, no significant differences were observed (n = 6; WMD = -3.36; 95% CI [-12.49; 5.77]; p < .471). Similarly, changes in probing pocket depth and marginal bone levels were not significantly different among groups. The incidence of peri-implantitis was evaluated in three investigations and varied from 16% to 26% after a follow-up period of 6-8 years.

Conclusions: The results from this systematic review and meta-analysis have shown that lateral ridge augmentation procedures can maintain peri-implant health over time with low mucosal inflammatory changes and a relatively small incidence of peri-implant bone loss.