The usefulness of a bilayer artificial dermis (TERUDERMIS) for vestibular extension in the mandible.

Conventionally, autologous skin or mucous membranes from the hard palate have been used as grafts for the alveolar area. This technique, however, has the serious disadvan-tage of exposing the healthy area to secondary damage during the process of graft donation.To resolve this problem, several types of biomaterials have been developed. These are onlytemporary materials that have several disadvantages in terms of antigenicity, bio-compatibility, and handling. We used TERUDERMIS® for vestibular extension in 30 patientswho were treated with dental implants. It is composed of a collagen sponge with a siliconelayer, which is sloughed off during the healing process. This material was more effectivethan auto logous mucous membrame grafts in promoting hemostasis, relieving pain, pro-moting rapid epithelization, and inducing connective tissue. No side effects were noted. The-results suggest that the material is useful for vestibular extension of the mandible.