Histomorphometric results of different grafting materials and effect of healing time on bone maturation after sinus floor augmentation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate histomorphometric variables, the amount of new bone (NB), residual graft (RG) particles and soft tissue (ST), related to various grafting materials and assess the effect of graft healing time on different histomorphometric outcomes. Studies that were published before October 2015 were electronically and manually searched in three databases. We included human studies that reported the amount of NB, RG and ST in the biopsies taken from the grafted sinuses. Based on the applied grafting materials, extracted data were categorized into different groups. Furthermore, extracted data were classified into three groups based on healing time: (i) ≤ 4.5 mo; (ii) 4.5–9 mo; and (iii) ≥ 9–13.5 mo. The search provided 791 titles. Full text analysis was performed for 258 articles resulting in 136 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Autogenous bone (AB) resulted in the highest amount of NB and lowest amount of RG compared to other grafting materials. Based on this meta-analysis, a significant difference was noticed in the amount of NB formation in grafts with a healing time of > 4.5 mo when compared to the grafts with less healing time. However, when comparing biopsies taken at 4.5–9 mo of healing (average = 6.22 mo) to the ones taken at ≥ 9–13.5 mo (average = 10.36 mo), no significant difference was noticed in the amount of NB formation of various grafts except allografts that resulted in a significantly higher percentage of NB at 9.5 mo of healing. Based on histomorphometric analysis, AB results in the highest amount of NB formation in comparison to the other grafting materials. Bone substitute materials (allografts, alloplastic materials and xenografts) seem to be good alternatives to autogenous bone and can be considered as grafting materials to avoid disadvantages related to AB, including morbidity rate, limited availability and high volumetric change. Combining AB with alloplastic materials and xenografts brings no significant advantages regarding NB formation.