Fourier and fractal analysis of maxillary alveolar ridge repair using platelet rich plasma (PRP) and inorganic bovine bone

This report concerns the regeneration of the maxillary alveolar process in a 17-year-old patient who had lost the upper central incisors together with alveolar bone as a result of a car accident. Three months later, GBR (guided bone regeneration) was started with the use of autogenic platelet rich plasma (PRP) and inorganic bovine bone. The regenerated bone was analysed after 10 months and compared with intact bone using Fourier analysis of radiograms. The radial and spatial distribution of Fourier transforms showed that the original trabecular pattern existing in the intact bone on both sides of the defect was replicated in an evident way in the regenerated bone. Fractal analysis of intact and regenerated bone showed a higher fractal dimension for intact bone in comparison with regenerated bone, confirming a lower complexity of the newly formed trabecular structures. Replication of the original trabecular pattern in regenerated bone allows us to conclude that genetic mechanisms are influencing the organization of the trabecular pattern of regenerated bone tissue, probably under the influence of the growth factors contained in autologous PRP.