Pedicle Periosteum as a Barrier for Guided Bone Regeneration in the Rabbit Frontal Bone.

BACKGROUND/AIM: For alveolar ridge reconstruction prior to dental implant placement, a barrier membrane is placed to create space over the bone defect. Although periosteum possesses osteogenic capacity, direct contact between defects and periosteum has been avoided. The present study aimed to investigate whether pedicle periosteum could be used as a barrier membrane. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve rabbits were used. A U-shaped incision was made in the frontal bone, and the skin-periosteum over the frontal bone was stripped. Two trephine-drilled holes with a diameter of 5 mm were prepared in the frontal bone. One hole was covered with pedicle periosteum (periosteum side), and the periosteum was secured to the contralateral side. The other defect was covered with an occlusive membrane (membrane side). RESULTS: The histological observation showed that both defects, which were covered either by the periosteum or by the membrane, were closed almost completely after 12 weeks of healing. No statistically significant difference was observed in the bone defect closure rates between the two sides at 4 and 12 weeks. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the pedicle periosteum possesses regenerative effects equivalent to those of occlusive membrane. The periosteum contributes to new bone formation by acting as a mechanical barrier and a source of osteogenic components.

Improved pathologic teeth migration following gingivectomy in a case of idiopathic gingival fibromatosis.

A case is reported of a 20-year-old woman with generalized severe gingival overgrowth covering almost all of the teeth with diastemata, diagnosed as idiopathic gingival fibromatosis. After initial therapy, the patient underwent surgery consisting of a full-mouth internal beveled gingivectomy. Postoperatively, the maxillary anterior teeth spontaneously moved to almost optimal positions. Removing the cause by gingivectomy can lead to spontaneous correction of the pathologic tooth migration. With supportive periodontal treatment, the patient showed no recurrence of gingival enlargement or repositioning of the teeth at the 5-year follow-up.

Hepatocyte growth factor in saliva: a possible marker for periodontal disease status.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) acts as a mitogen, motogen, morphogen and anti-apoptotic factor for various kinds of epithelial cells. We previously showed that periodontal fibroblasts secreted an HGF-like chemoattractant for a gingival epithelial cell line and found that HGF content in gingival crevicular fluid was well correlated with probing depth, gingival index, and interleukin-1beta concentration. To examine whether HGF in whole (mixed) saliva would be a useful marker for periodontal disease status, we investigated the relationship between salivary HGF levels and clinical parameters of 65 adults (50 men and 15 women). Unstimulated whole (mixed) saliva was collected from each subject and the HGF level was determined with an ELISA kit. After sample collection, probing depths and bleeding on probing were monitored. Significant correlations were found between salivary HGF levels and the number of probing depths exceeding 4 mm (r = 0.541), the number of probing depths exceeding 6 mm (r = 0.683), the deepest probing depth of each subject (r = 0.558) and the percentage of sites positive for bleeding on probing (r = 0.511). These results suggest that salivary HGF may be a novel marker for periodontal diagnosis in screening tests.