The Influence of Barrier Membranes on Autologous Bone Grafts

In implant dentistry, there is continuing debate regarding whether a barrier membrane should be applied to cover autologous bone grafts in jaw augmentation. A membrane would prevent graft remodeling with resorption and enhance graft incorporation. We hypothesized that membrane coverage does not effect resorption and incorporation of autologous onlay bone grafts. We treated 192 male Sprague-Dawley rats. A 4.0-mm-diameter bone graft was harvested from the right mandibular angle and transplanted to the left. Poly(DL-lactide-epsilon-caprolactone), collagen, and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene membranes were used to cover the grafts. The controls were left uncovered. Graft resorption at 2, 4, and 12 weeks was evaluated by post mortem microradiography and microCT. Analysis of the data showed no significant differences among the 4 groups. This demonstrates that the indication of barrier membrane use, to prevent bone remodeling with resorption and to enhance incorporation of autologous onlay bone grafts, is at least disputable.