Sinus lift surgeries are part of the daily practice of dentists. This study evaluates the long-term structure of the bone placed in sinus lifts through the fractal dimension. We conducted a retrospective study on a sample of 35 patients with 51 sinus lifts performed using a lateral window approach and filling material placement. We radiologically analyzed the graft bone to observe its evolution up to one and a half years after the surgical procedure. The obtained results were the average area of the sinuses analyzed was 1401.96 mm2, with a mean area occupied by the filling material of 297.75 mm2. Significant differences are observed when comparing the fractal dimension values obtained on the initial day and one year after prosthesis loading. Similarly, when comparing the values of the area occupied by the biomaterial at the start day and one year after prosthesis loading, significant differences are also obtained (p-value < 0.001). In conclusion, the filling material used in the lateral window sinus lift procedure undergoes significant resorption and shows changes in the fractal dimension.

To assess the influence of two different implant surfaces on osseointegration in maxillary sinuses of rabbits previously grafted with deproteinized bovine bone (DBB) associated or not with fresh bone marrow (BM).

Sixteen New Zealand albino rabbits (males, 3.5/4.5 kg and 9-12 months old) were randomly divided into two groups with 8 rabbits each, according to the type of association of biomaterials used to fill the animals' maxillary sinuses: DBB (Deproteinized Bovine Bone) and DBB/BM (Deproteinized bovine bone associated with fresh autologous bone marrow). Ninety (90) days following the grafting procedure, the animals received implants in the area with two different microstructures (SA-Sandblasting + acid attack and SA-H-Sandblasting + acid attack + immersion in 0.9% sodium chloride isotonic solution). All rabbits were euthanized 90 days after implant placement. The microtomographic analysis was performed to verify the number of mineralized tissues around the implants throughout their length (%BV/TV), while the histomorphometric analysis was performed to verify the percentage of bone-implant contact around the implants throughout their length (%BIC).

We observed no differences in the quantity for %BV/TV (DBB-SA:33.25 ± 19.67; DBB-SA-H:35.15 ± 22.17; DBB/BM-SA:39.71 ± 24.21; DBB/BM-SA-H:36.40 ± 23.07) and %BIC (DBB-SA:58.94 ± 24.37; DBB-SA-H:52.52 ± 24.36; DBB/BM-SA: 61.66 ± 14.60; DBB/BM-SA-H: 64.06 ± 23.30) between the groups assessed.

The addition of BM and the type of surface did not influence the osseointegration of implants installed in areas grafted with sintered deproteinized bovine bone at high temperatures in the late period assessed.

The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of bone remodeling after maxillary sinus lifting in humans by means of fractal dimension (FD) and histomorphometric analysis. Therefore, the correlation between FD and the histomorphometric findings was evaluated. Sixteen patients with posterior edentulous maxilla were enrolled in this study. Maxillary sinus lifting was performed using autogenous bone grafted from the mandibular retromolar area. Three direct digital panoramic radiographs were obtained: before surgery (Group 1), immediately postoperatively (Group 2) and after 6 months of healing (Group 3) for FD analysis. Biopsies were taken after 6 months, processed and submitted to histological and histomorphometric analysis. Data were analyzed by Shapiro-Wilk test and ANOVA test followed by a Tukey test (a = 0.05). The bone volume fraction of newly trabecular bone (TB) and medullary area (MA) was measured as 62.75% ± 17.16% and 37.25 ± 17.16%, respectively. Significant difference in FD analysis was measured between Group 1 and Group 3. No significant difference was found in the correlation between FD and histomorphometric analysis for TB and MA (p = 0.84). In conclusion, all performed analyses were effective in assessing the bone-remodeling pattern in the maxillary sinus, offering complementary information about healing and predictable outcomes. There were no correlations between FD and histomorphometric analysis.

Leukocyte- and platelet-rich fibrin (L-PRF) is a biomaterial commonly used in periodontology and implant dentistry to improve healing and tissue regeneration, particularly as filling material in alveolar sockets to regenerate bone for optimal dental implant placement. The objective of this work was to evaluate the use of L-PRF as a safe filling and hemostatic material after dental extractions (or avulsions) for the prevention of hemorrhagic complications in heart surgery patients without modification of the anticoagulant oral therapy. Fifty heart surgery patients under oral anticoagulant therapy who needed dental extractions were selected for the study. Patients were treated with L-PRF clots placed into 168 postextraction sockets without modification of anticoagulant therapy (mean international normalized ratio  =  3.16 ± 0.39). Only 2 patients reported hemorrhagic complications (4%), all of which resolved a few hours after the surgery by compression and hemostatic topical agents. Ten patients (20%) showed mild bleeding, which spontaneously resolved or was resolved by minimal compression less than 2 hours after surgery. No case of delayed bleeding was reported. The remaining 38 patients (76%) showed an adequate hemostasis after the dental extractions. In all cases, no alveolitis or painful events were reported, soft tissue healing was quick, and wound closure was always complete at the time of suture removal one week after surgery. The proposed protocol is a reliable therapeutic option to avoid significant bleeding after dental extractions without the suspension of the continuous oral anticoagulant therapy in heart surgery patients. Other applications of the hemostatic and healing properties of L-PRF should be investigated in oral implantology.