A controlled re-entry study on the effectiveness of bovine porous bone mineral used in combination with a collagen membrane of porcine origin in the treatment of intrabony defects in humans

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness o f a bovine porous bone mineral used in combination with a porcine derived c ollagen membrane as a barrier in promoting periodontal regeneration in intr abony defects in humans. Material and Methods: The study employed a split-mouth design. 22 paired in trabony defects were treated and surgically re-entered 6 months after treat ment. Experimental sites were grafted with bovine porous bone mineral and r eceived a collagen membrane for guided tissue regeneration. Control sites w ere treated with an open flap debridement. Results: Preoperative pocket depths, attachment levels and trans-operative bone measurements were similar for control and experimental sites. Post sur gical measurements revealed a significantly greater reduction in pocket dep th (differences of 1.89+/-0.31 mm on buccal 0.88+/-0.27 mm on lingual measu rements) and more gain in clinical attachment (differences of 1.51+/-0.33 m m on buccal and 1.50+/-0.35 mm on lingual measurements) in experimental sit es. Surgical reentry of the treated defects revealed a significantly greate r amount of defect fill in favor of experimental sites (differences of 2.67 +/-0.91 mm on buccal and 2.54+/-0.87 mm on lingual measurements). Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that clinical resolution of intrabony defects can be achieved using a combination of bovine porous bon e mineral and an absorbable, porcine derived collagen membrane when employi ng a technique based on the principles of guided tissue regeneration. The n ature of the attachment between the newly regenerated tissue and the root s urfaces needs to be evaluated histologically to confirm the presence of new attachment.