Of the respondents (clinical members of the ADI), 181 indicated that they were involved in the surgi cal aspects of oral implantology. Of the 181, 172 replied to this section of the questionnaire.

Preferred Augmentation Materials.
Although a wide range of materials were used, autogenous bone and DFDB were the two augmentation materials selected most frequently as the first-choice augmentation material (Table 1).

Perceived Scientific Support for Augmentation Materials.
Different levels of scientific evidence were presented in this section of the survey. Participants were asked to indicate the level(s) of scientific evidence they believed to be currently available to support their preferred augmentation material. Members could indicate more than one response if they felt that multiple levels of evidence were available to support their preferred augmentation material (Table 2).

Autogenous Bone.
Of the clinicians who preferred to use autogenous bone for augmentation purposes (41.9% of the respondents), 26.3% thought that there was at least one randomized controlled trial (RCT) with histological evidence supporting the use of this material in oral implantology and 41% indicated that they were uncertain as to the level of scientific support available.

Demineralized Freeze-Dried Bone.
Of the 25.1% that selected DFDB as their first choice augmentation material, 30.6% indicated that they thought an RCT with histological evidence was available to support the use of this material. Just 6.9% of DFDB users stated that they were uncertain about the levels of evidence supporting this material.

Clinical Use of Allogenic and Alloplastic Materials.
Participants were asked to select the one statement that most closely reflected their views and personal experience on the predictable use of allogenic and alloplastic augmentation materials. The majority of respondents (51.2%) thought that allografts and alloplasts are suitable for correcting small alveolar defects, and 37.2% indicated that these materials should be used as a volume expander in conjunction with autogenous bone (Table 3).

Factors Influencing the Choice of Material Used in Bone Augmentation Procedures.
Participants were asked to enumerate the two most important factors that influenced their choice of augmentation materials. The two factors found to be most important were research publications and personal observation in clinical practice (Table 4).

Bone Collectors.
At the time of this survey, 57.7% of participants use bone collectors. The types of bone collectors currently used in the United Kingdom are presented. Clinicians who use collected bone debris were asked to indicate the type of defect they would normally correct with this material (Tables 5 and 6).

Table 1. First-Choice Augmentation Material.



Table 2. Perceived Scientific Support for Autogenous Bone and DFDB.



Table 3. Clinical Use of Alloplastic and Allogenic Augmentation Materials.



Table 4. FFactors Influencing the Choice of Material Used in Bone Augmentation Procedures.



Table 5. Current Use of Bone Collectors.



Table 6. Defect Type Corrected with Collected Bone Debris by Those Clinicians Who Use Bone Collectors.