Reconstructive periodontal therapy with simultaneous ridge augmentation. A clinical and histological case series report

Treatment of intrabony periodontal defects with a combination of a natural bone mineral (NBM) and guided tissue regeneration (GTR) has been shown to promote periodontal regeneration in intrabony defects. In certain clinical situations, the teeth presenting intrabony defects are located at close vicinity of the resorbed alveolar ridge. In these particular cases, it is of clinical interest to simultaneously reconstruct both the intrabony periodontal defect and the resorbed alveolar ridge, thus allowing insertion of endosseous dental implants. The aim of the present study was to present the clinical and histological results obtained with a new surgical technique designed to simultaneously reconstruct the intrabony defect and the adjacently located resorbed alveolar ridge. Eight patients with chronic advanced periodontitis displaying intrabony defects located in the close vicinity of resorbed alveolar ridges were consecutively enrolled in the study. After local anesthesia, mucoperiosteal flaps were raised, the granulation tissue removed, and the roots meticulously scaled and planed. A subepithelial connective tissue graft was harvested from the palate and sutured to the oral flap. The intrabony defect and the adjacent alveolar ridge were filled with a NBM and subsequently covered with a bioresorbable collagen membrane (GTR). At 11–20 months (mean, 13.9 ± 3.9 months) after surgery, implants were placed, core biopsies retrieved, and histologically evaluated. Mean pocket depth reduction measured 3.8 ± 1.7 mm and mean clinical attachment level gain 4.3 ± 2.2 mm, respectively. Reentry revealed in all cases a complete fill of the intrabony component and a mean additional vertical hard tissue gain of 1.8 ± 1.8 mm. The histologic evaluation indicated that most NBM particles were surrounded by bone. Mean new bone and mean graft area measured 17.8 ± 2.8% and 32.1 ± 8.3%, respectively. Within their limits, the present findings indicate that the described surgical approach may be successfully used in certain clinical cases to simultaneously treat intrabony defects and to reconstruct the resorbed alveolar ridge.