Single tooth replacement by Morse taper connection implants: a retrospective study of 80 implants.

The goal of this study was to provide data relative to the use of a new implant system (Mac System, Cabon, Milan, Italy) with a Morse taper implant-abutment connection for single implant restorations. The implant system is composed of an endosseous screw made of commercially pure titanium grade 2, while the abutment is titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V). A total of 80 single implants were placed in 69 patients (36 women and 33 men, mean age 42 years, range 16 to 61). All patients gave their informed consent and received a thorough clinical and radiographic examination. Smokers and diabetics were excluded from the study. Three implants were placed in areas of previous tooth impaction, 5 were placed in posttraumatic edentulous areas, 2 were used in situations involving tooth agenesis, and 60 replaced teeth lost because of caries or periodontal disease. All patients were edentulous for at least 1 year prior to treatment. The implants received a definitive prosthesis and had been in function for a mean period of 3.5 years. At second-stage surgery, 2 implants were removed because of lack of osseointegration. After 2 years of loading, 1 implant showed evidence of peri-implantitis and was removed. In addition, 2 fractured abutments and 1 loosened abutment were observed. Few mechanical or infectious complications were seen, and this may have been the result of high stability of the conical connection.

Healing after application of tissue-adhesive material to denuded and citric acid-treated root surfaces.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of a commercially available tissue adhesive upon healing of the coronal periodontium. In four squirrel monkeys, 24 teeth were extracted, and the coronal third of the roots planed free of fibers and cementum. Eight teeth were replanted without further alteration and eight were coated with tissue adhesive prior to replantation. In the remaining eight teeth, the planed surface was decalcified, coated with tissue adhesive and replanted. Histological observations were made at 1 and 7 days after replantation. In the teeth replanted after root planing alone and root planing plus tissue adhesive, epithelium migrated apically and was within the ligament space lining the denuded root at 7 days. In contrast, those teeth which were decalcified prior to application of tissue adhesive demonstrated fiber attachment to the planed root surface and little or no epithelial downgrowth.

Oral manifestations of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (Osler-Weber-Rendu disease). Review and case reports.

A review of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (Osler-Weber-Rendu Disease) is presented. Special emphasis is placed on the oral manifestations which include hemorrhagic vesicles, nodules, papules and ulcers that involve the gingiva and other areas of the mucosa. Two cases are included which were seen in a periodontic clinic prior to the medical diagnosis. The nature of the practice of periodontics necessitates a broad understanding of the systemic diseases reflected in the oral cavity. Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia is one such disease.

A clinical evaluation of freeze-dried homologous dura mater as a periodontal free graft material. Study in humans.

Homologous freeze dried dura mater (FDDM) was used as a graft material in the correction of inadequate zones of attached gingiva. Eleven patients having a mean preoperative width of attached gingiva of 0.31 mm with a range of 0 to 1 mm were used in this study. A total of 17 grafts were implanted at 42 tooth sites, all on the buccal side of the mandibular arch. Clinical observations were conducted over a 3-month postoperative period. The parameters examined pre- and postoperatively were the width of the attached gingiva, the crevice depth and the width of the homologous FDDM implanted. Postoperatively, the mean width of the attached gingiva was 3.65 mm with a range of 2 to 6 mm. This finding was statistically significant (P less than 0.001). The crevice depths did not vary significantly and the implanted FDDM evidenced a mean shrinkage of 46.7%. Within its temporal limits, the present study has shown that homologous FDDM can be used effectively as a free graft in mucogingival surgery to correct inadequate zones of attached gingiva.