Impact of soft tissue graft on the preservation of compromised sockets: a randomized controlled clinical pilot study.

The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the impact of the association of free gingival graft (FGG) or collagen-matrix xenograft (CMX) to deproteinized bovine bone graft (DBBG) on the preservation of post-extraction sockets with facial-wall defects. Sixteen patients who presented a maxillary tooth with a facial bone defect and indication of extraction were selected. After the surgical procedure, all the post-extraction sockets were filled with DBBG and covered with a collagen membrane.