An in vitro study was conducted to quantitatively measure the depth of root surface removal using curettes of standardized sharpness and with definite stroke number. Extracted periodontally healthy teeth from patients 10 to 15, 16 to 25, and 26 to 40 years old had periodontal ligament remnants removed with dry gauze before being secured in a vertical position during root planing. The force applied to the root surface was measured with a tension load cell. The "bright line" test was used to assess curette sharpness. After histologic processing, the thickness of cementum adjacent to the root defect, the cementum (if any) in the root defect, total amount of cementum removed, and depth of root defect were measured by a microscopic ocular grid. Teeth from each age range were evenly distributed into 6 groups of 10 teeth each. In the majority of teeth from the 20 stroke group through the 70 stroke group, complete cementum removal was observed at the site of planing. However, in some sections from each group, fragments of cementum remained on the root surface. A positive relationship (r/s = 1) was found between the number of strokes and the force applied to the root surface and the mean depth of defect (P less than 0.05). However, an inverse relationship existed between mean force per stroke and mean defect depth (r/s = -.99) such that as mean force per stroke increased, the mean defect depth decreased. As the root surface became smoother with an increasing number of strokes, the forces increased and were more consistent.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Thirteen patients received Durapatite, a hydroxylapatite ceramic (Periograf), as a bone implant material in various types of intrabony defects following internally beveled full thickness flaps, root planing, and defect debridement. All osseous margins and defects were measured from the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) at specific locations using a standardized periodontal probe. Similarly debrided, nonimplanted defects served as controls. Defect selection as either experimental or control site was based on an alternating defects design after local therapy was completed. Periodontal dressing and systemic tetracycline were used for 10 days. Postsurgical visits for documentation and plaque control were at 10, 20 and 30 days, and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Measurements relating to defect changes were made at the 12-month surgical reentry. For evaluation purposes original defect depths were divided into three groups. In Group I (less than 3 mm) defect fill was 1.0 mm (47%) for the implanted defects and 0.3 mm (33%) for the control sites (significantly different at P less than 0.05). In Group II (3-6 mm) defect fill of 1.7 mm (44%) for implanted sites was significantly better (P less than 0.05) than the 0.8 mm (29%) found in control sites. In the deepest group (Group III, greater than 6 mm) Durapatite placement yielded 2.1 mm (32%) of defect fill while debridement alone resulted in 1.8 mm (26%) of fill (P greater than 0.05). Hard tissue responses demonstrated a substantial advantage for use of Durapatite over controls, while soft tissue changes were similar for both.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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