Background The aim of this comparative study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of nonrepair of the perforated maxillary sinus membrane compared to the nonperforated cases. Materials and Methods A retrospective comparative study was performed by identifying all lateral window sinus augmentation procedures, which were done during a defined period. Demographic data, systemic diseases, and smoking habits of patients were recorded. Thickness of the Schneiderian membrane and the amount of residual bone before surgery were measured by cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT). In case of perforation, no attempt was made to repair the membrane. Alloplast was used for bone augmentation. The thickness of the Schneiderian membrane and gained bone height were recorded using CBCT at the time of prosthesis delivery. Results Sixty‐three patients with 65 sinuses were included in this retrospective study. The rate of sinus perforation was 39%. There was a significant association between the presence of sinus pathoses before surgery and the occurrence of Schneiderian membrane perforation (P = 0.03). The Schneiderian membrane was significantly thicker in patients with perforation compared to the patients without perforation (P < 0.001). There was no correlation between the size of the perforation and the thickness of the Schneiderian membrane. Most of the perforations (83%) occurred at the mesial and middle part of the lateral window. The Schneiderian membrane thickness was decreased significantly in both groups after the sinus elevation procedure (P < 0.05). The bone graft height was stable over the follow‐up period in both groups (P > 0.05). There was no implant failure in any of the groups. Conclusions Nonrepair of the Schneiderian membrane perforation did not adversely affect the clinical and radiographical outcomes. There were higher intraoperative and postoperative complications in the nonrepair group.

Background Peri‐implantitis is a challenging condition to manage and is frequently treated using non‐surgical debridement. The local delivery of antimicrobial agents has demonstrated benefit in mild to moderate cases of peri‐implantitis. This study compared the safety and efficacy of chlorhexidine gluconate 2.5 mg chip (CHX chips) as an adjunctive treatment to subgingival debridement in patients afflicted with peri‐implantitis. Methods A multicenter, randomized, single‐blind, two‐arm, parallel Phase‐3 study was conducted. Peri‐implantitis patients with implant pocket depths (IPD) of 5‐8 mm underwent subgingival implant surface debridement followed by repeated bi‐weekly supragingival plaque removal and chlorhexidine chips application (ChxC group) for 12 weeks, or similar therapy but without application of ChxC (control group). All patients were followed for 24 weeks. Plaque and gingival indices were measured at every visit whereas IPD, recession, and bleeding on probing were assessed at 8, 12, 16, 24 week. Results A total of 290 patients were included: 146 in the ChxC group and 144 in the control. At 24 weeks, a significant reduction in IPD (P = 0.01) was measured in the ChxC group (1.76 ± 1.13 mm) compared with the control group (1.54 ± 1.13 mm). IPD reduction of ≥2 mm was found in 59% and 47.2% of the implants in the ChxC and control groups, respectively (P = 0.03). Changes in gingival recession (0.29 ± 0.68 mm versus 0.15 ± 0.55 mm, P = 0.015) and relative attachment gain (1.47 ± 1.32 mm and 1.39 ± 1.27 mm, P = 0.0017) were significantly larger in the ChxC group. Patients in the ChxC group that were < 65 years exhibited significantly better responses (P < 0.02); likewise, non‐smokers had similarly better response (P < 0.02). Both protocols were well tolerated, and no severe treatment‐related adverse events were recorded throughout the study. Conclusions Patients with peri‐implantitis that were treated with an intensive treatment protocol of bi‐weekly supragingival plaque removal and local application of chlorhexidine chips had greater mean IPD reduction and greater percentile of sites with IPD reduction of ≥2 mm as compared with bi‐weekly supra‐gingival plaque removal.

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The periodontal pathogen Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans expresses a cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) that typically arrests the growth of eukaryotic cells at either the G 0 /G 1 or G 2 /M phase of the cell cycle. It was previously found that CDT failed to arrest the growth of human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HPLFs) when grown in pure culture. In contrast, proliferation of an oral epithelial cell line was rapidly inhibited by the toxin. In this study, the feasibility of using mixed-cell cultures and cell-specific markers to evaluate the response of oral cells, when in heterogeneous populations, to CDT was established. Proliferation of epithelial cells was rapidly inhibited and the cells were selectively eliminated in co-culture with HPLFs or cementoblasts by 24-48 h postintoxication. Epithelial cells and HPLFs were detected and counted in co-cultures following cellspecific immunolabelling with antibodies against simian virus 40 large T antigen and the Ab-1 surface antigen, respectively. These results demonstrated that the activities of potential virulence factors, such as CDT, from periodontal pathogens can be successfully examined in mixed-cell cultures. This approach is especially relevant to infectious diseases that affect tissues with a diverse cellular composition, such as the periodontium.

The presence of hard tissue dehiscence and thin periodontal biotype in the esthetic area is a challenge that can jeopardize function and aesthetic outcome of implants. Here, we present a successful simultaneous soft tissue and bone regeneration of dehiscence defects in the maxillary incisor region. The novelty of this case lies in the simultaneous bone regeneration and soft tissue augmentation and the use of acellular dermal matrix as a barrier for regeneration and biotype conversion around dental implants. Reentry surgery 5 months after soft tissue and bone augmentation showed more than 95% new bone formation at the facial surface of implants and histological evidence of new vital bone formation. Biotype conversion from thin (<0.8 mm) to thick (2 mm) was noted in the area.