Clinical and Histological Differences between Guided Tissue Regeneration with Acellular Dermal Matrix of Porcine Origin and Autologous Connective Tissue: An Animal Study

Abstract

This research aims to evaluate the clinical and histological parametric differences concerning keratinized tissue that result from two regeneration techniques, the subepithelial autologous connective tissue graft (ACTG) and the acellular dermal matrix (MD) of porcine origin, performed on surgical beds on edentulous spaces in an animal model. The parameters of the MD and ACTG groups were compared with samples of the control group (CG) after 15, 45, and 90 days. Nine female white pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) were used, and each animal provided 20 study areas (12 MD and 8 ACTG). At 15 days, the keratin layer thickness in the MD group was greater than those of the ACTG (25.27 vs. 19.95 µm) and the CG (21.2 µm). After 45 days, the MD and ACTG thickness values decreased but were higher than the CG. At 90 days, MD (19.46 µm) obtained a value close to that of CG, and the ACTG decreased to CG (15.53 µm, p < 0.001). The use of an MD may be a viable alternative to the ACTG because of its ability to provide increased keratinized tissue in comparison to the ACTG. Keywords: autologous connective tissue graft; acellular dermal matrix; grafts; keratinized mucosa