RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN APICAL AND MARGINAL HEALING IN PERIRADICULAR SURGERY

Objective. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relati onship between apical and marginal periodontal healing after periapica l surgery. Study design. The investigation was conducted on 59 patient s referred for periradicular surgery. A radiographic examination as we ll as assessments of periodontal attachment and pocket depth of teeth undergoing surgery and control teeth were performed at the time of sur gery and 1 year after surgery. The radiographic periapical healing pat tern was evaluated. Results. After an observation time of 1 year, 85% of the healing patterns were classified as successful or uncertain. Te eth within the surgical area showed a significant loss of clinical att achment during the observation period. The mean clinical attachment lo ss in teeth with an unsuccessful healing was 0.85 mm and differed sign ificantly from successfully healed cases (mean, 0.15 mm). Conclusions. A persisting endodontic infection may be regarded as a contributing r isk factor for a progressing marginal attachment loss.