Background: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of applying Bio-OssÒ, an anorganic bovine bone xenograft (control group) to the combined use of Bio-OssÒ and Bio-GideÒ (a bioabsorbable collagen membrane) (test group) in human mandibular Class II furcation defects. Methods: A total of 18 furcations (8 tests and 10 controls) in 14 patients suffering from chronic periodontitis were treated in this randomized clinical trial. Open vertical and horizontal furcation depths (OVFD and OHFD), vertical and horizontal clinical attachment levels (VCAL, HCAL), probing depth (PD) and free gingival marginal level (GML) were among the clinical parameters measured prior and six months after treatment, at re-entry surgery. The data were analysed by statistical tests while a p value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: At the surgical re-entry, the mean reduction for OVFD of the control and test groups was 1.9 ± 1.3 and 2.1 ± 1.0, and for OHFD 2.1 ± 0.7 and 2.4 ± 1.3, respectively. The control and test treatments resulted in significant reductions in PD, VCAL and HCAL measurements at re-entry but there was no statistically significant difference between the two treatments in all soft and hard tissues measurements. Conclusions: This clinical trial failed to demonstrate the superiority of the combined use of Bio-GideÒ and Bio-OssÒ to the use of Bio-OssÒ alone, although both therapies resulted in significant gains in attachment level and bone fill.

Introduction:The use of radiotherapy, alone or in conjunction with surgical resection, is common in treating head and neck tumours. However, ionising radiation induces unavoidable changes in the surrounding normal tissues, causing severe complications. Therefore, we decided to study different effects of radiotherapy on gingiva and oral mucosa.Methods and Materials:This prospective analytical study was performed on 30 patients with head and neck cancers referred to the radiotherapy department of Ghaem Hospital from March to October 2006. Data were collected by means of interviews, clinical examinations and patients’ medical file investigation. The impact of different dosages of radiation on gingiva and oral mucosa was investigated. Data analysis was performed using general linear model (GLM), Cochran and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests via SPSS V. 11.5 software.Results:A direct relationship between increase in radiation dosage, irritation of oral mucosa, ulcer development and mucositis was observed. But there was no significant relationship between NUG (necrotising ulcerative gingivitis) and perlèche and radiation dosage. Periodontal index (PI), gingival index (GI) and papillary bleeding index (PBI) were increased, but due to limited time of study (6–7 weeks), no change in gingival recession was observed. Plaque index (PLI) decreased during treatment process because of oral hygiene instructions.Conclusion:The oral and periodontal health status of head and neck cancer patients before and during radiotherapy has been described in this article. The authors believe that prevention or reduction of side-effects of radiation should be an integral part of treatment as they may have tremendous effect on the patient's quality of life. This study supports the need for dental assessment and treatment planning before radiation therapy.

Purpose:The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the success rate of a chairside ridge augmentation procedure using bone autografts harvested with trephine drills and placed without the use of screws.Methods:Thirty patients were recruited for the study. After the surgical site was anesthetized and a crestal incision was made, an envelope flap was retracted using blunt dissection limited to the graft site, and the periosteum was raised intact and undamaged from the bone. The flap was extended laterally to obtain sufficient space for the bone graft. At the donor site, bone was obtained from the external oblique ridge area. A #5 or #6 trephine drill was used to harvest one or two pieces of bone. The bone blocks were placed inside the envelope flap at the recipient site, which was then sutured and covered with periodontal dressing. Antibiotics, analgesics, and mouthwash were prescribed. Measurements of ridge width were performed using CBCT before and 3 months after surgery. The pre- and post operative results were compared using paired t test.Results:Pre- and post-operative mean ridge widths were 2.23 ± 0.79 and 5.16 ± 0.68 mm, respectively. The mean increase in width was 2.92 ± 0.89 mm(P < 0.001).Conclusion:This non-invasive and simple technique provided an acceptable increase in ridge width. As the sample was small, we recommend further clinical investigation with larger samples to confirm that this technique may be used successfully as an alternative to current invasive augmentation methods.

Bone resorption after tooth extraction is a common problem in implant dentistry. Allografts are one of the therapeutic techniques used to reconstruct the deficient ridge. Although this technique eliminates the need for a surgical donor site, it has yielded contradictory results. The aim of the present pilot study was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic results of the use of demineralized freeze-dried cancellous block allografts (DFDCBAs) in lateral ridge augmentation. Seven patients were included in this study. Lateral reconstruction of bone was performed using DFDCBA with stabilizing screws and resorbable collagen membranes. The ridge width was initially measured during the augmentation surgery. A second measurement was taken 6 months later at the time of implant placement. In addition, cone bean computed tomography images were used at both baseline and at 6-month reentry for measuring the width of bone by applying an acrylic stent with a radiopaque marker at the edentulous area. Paired t test was used to evaluate the statistical differences. The mean increase in the clinical and radiographic ridge widths were 1.70 ± 1.90 and 1.28 ± 1.52 mm, respectively, which were not statistically significant (P = 0.56 and P = 0.067, respectively). The results showed that the use of DFDCBAs in conjunction with resorbable membrane does not yield predictable results in the reconstruction of ridge width deficiencies.

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