Efficacy evaluation of a new buccal bone plate preservation technique: a pilot study.

Twenty extraction sockets in 16 patients were included in this study. Ten were treated with buccal plate preservation (BPP, test group), which consisted of placing a bone graft overlying the buccal plate in a surgically created pouch, and 10 were left untreated (control). Pre- and postoperative differences in buccolingual dimension at the midpoint of the extraction area were calculated using study casts. Statistically significant differences were found between the test group (mean, 0.85 ± 0.75 mm) and control group (mean, 0.9 ± 0.65 mm, P < .5). Clinically, BPP after extraction may help to maintain or augment the soft tissue appearance compared to nontreatment.