Comparison of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite and synthetic resorbable hydroxyapatite graft in the treatment of intrabony defects: A clinical and radiographic study

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to compare, clinically and radiographically, the effectiveness of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (NHA) and synthetic resorbable hydroxyapatite (HA) in the treatment of intrabony defects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten subjects with bilateral defects, with probing depth (PD) 6-9 mm and radiographic evidence of an intraosseous component ≥4 mm participated in the present study. Subjects were allocated randomly to treatment with NHA (test group) or HA (control group). At baseline, 3 and 6 months after surgery, the following clinical parameters were recorded: Plaque index, gingival index, PD, relative attachment level (RAL), and radiographic reduction in intrabony defect. RESULTS: At 6 months following therapy, the test group showed a reduction in mean PD from 6.4 ± 0.843 to 3.3 ± 0.8232 mm and a change in mean RAL from 12.9 ± 1.197 to 10.1 ± 0.7378 mm, whereas in the control group the mean PD decreased from 7.65 ± 1.8566 to 3.9 ± 1.1005 mm, and mean RAL decreased from 13.9 ± 0.9944 to 10.7 ± 0.6749 mm. On comparison of the mean difference in probing depth between the two groups after the unpaired t-test was applied at baseline, 3 months and 6 months, scores were found to be statistically non-significant (P > 0.01). CONCLUSION: The results of the present study indicate that both NHA and conventional HA led to the improvement of clinical and radiographic parameters over the course of the study. However, the test group did not show any significant improvement over the control group.