Abstract
BACKGROUND: Impaction of mandibular third molars (M3) is one of the most common diseases. Extraction of M3 usually exacerbates osseous defects at the distal aspect of the adjacent second molar (M2). BonMaker(®) ATB has been cited as a novel autogenous bone grafting material. The aim of this pilot study was to introduce a novel method for repairing the distal osseous defects of M2 after the surgical removal of M3 with autogenous tooth graft powder (ATGP). METHOD: A total of five patients were enrolled in this prospective split-mouth clinical pilot study. Four impacted wisdom teeth were extracted bilaterally from each patient with proximal alveolar bone loss ≥ 5 mm of M3. The ATGP was prepared chairside from two extracted one side third molars and randomly implanted in one of the M3 extraction sockets, and the other side was treated with a blank and considered the control site. Patients were followed up at 6 months. RESULTS: The five patients included three males and two females. Their ages ranged from 25 to 30 years, with a median of 27 years. Primary wound healing without complications was achieved in all the patients. There was a greater tendency for swelling of the cheeks and trismus to occur at the experimental site on the third postoperative day. Compared with the control site, the experimental site exhibited progressive bone filling and ossification in the sixth postoperative month. Moreover, the probing pocket depth of the experimental site was lower than that of the control site. CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrate that ATGP effectively and economically repairs distal osseous defects of M2. Further study is required to validate the effectiveness with a larger study population.