GUIDED TISSUE REGENERATION IN HUMAN FURCATION DEFECTS AFTER USING A BIODEGRADABLE BARRIER - A MULTICENTER FEASIBILITY STUDY

THIS MULTI-CENTER STUDY EVALUATED GUIDED TISSUE REGENERATION (GTR) in Class II furcation defects using a polylactic acid biodegradable barri er in 29 patients with mandibular and maxillary molar defects. Followi ng an initial hygienic phase, surgical flaps were elevated, and the si tes scaled and root planed. Furcation defect perimeter was measured an d a customized barrier (thickness 600 to 750 mu) was applied to cover the defect. Barriers adhered directly to tooth and bone. At baseline, sites were measured for probing depth (PD) (6.0 +/- 0.2 [SE] mm), ging ival margin location (GML) (-0.2 +/- 0.2 mm), and attachment level in both vertical (AL-V) (6.2 +/- 0.2 mm) and horizontal (AL-H) (5.4 +/- 0 .2 mm) directions. After the surgical procedure, there was good compat ibility between the gingival tissues and barrier material. Clinically, barriers fragmented and became displaced in 3 to 6 weeks. Substantial granulation tissue was sometimes present between barrier and root sur faces. Comprehensive periodontal examination parameters were measured 3, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months after baseline. A repeated measures ANOVA wa s used to evaluate changes from baseline. At 6 and 12 months postsurge ry, GML was close to the presurgical level (-0.5 +/- 0.2 mm). There wa s clinically and statistically significant improvement in all other pa rameters: mean PD reduction (2.2 mm), AL-V gain (1.7 mm), and AL-H gai n (2.5 mm). These results indicated favorable clinical regenerative ou tcomes after using this barrier material in Class II furcation defects in humans.