Augmentation of rat mandibular ridge with demineralized bone implants.

Demineralized bone implants were placed as onlays in submucosal pockets on the edentulous segment of the rat mandible, between the incisor and posterior teeth. These implants, predictably, induced osteogenesis. The mass of induced bone and implant was united to the ridge by two weeks, and there was little or no resorption over a six-month follow-up period. This study suggests that demineralized bone implants may be useful for mandibular ridge augmentation.