Effect of post-surgical flap position on soft tissue regrowth and keratinized tissue increase following fibre retention osseous resective surgery: a 6-month randomized study with multilevel analysis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this randomized split-mouth study was to assess the influence of primary flap position on the amount of coronal soft tissue regrowth and keratinized tissue (KT) 6 months after osseous resective surgery with fiber retention technique (FibReORS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two contralateral posterior sextants in 16 patients were treated with FibReORS and randomly assigned to flap positioning either 2 mm below the bone crest (apical group) or at the level of bone crest (crestal group). Clinical parameters were recorded at 1, 3 and 6 months and patient-related outcomes during the first two post-operative weeks. RESULTS: Healing period was uneventful. Patient's discomfort was similar in both groups. The overall soft tissue rebound was higher in the apical than in the crestal group (2.0 ± 1.3 mm versus 1.3 ± 0.7 mm), but the difference was statistically significant only interproximally (2.2 ± 1.3 mm versus 1.6 ± 0.8 mm). Multilevel analyses showed higher soft tissue rebound in sites with normal compared to thin phenotype (1.5 mm, p < 0.0001) and treated with flap positioned 2 mm apically to the bone crest (0.7 mm, p < 0.001). An additional 0.5 mm KT increase was observed at interdental sites in the apical group. CONCLUSIONS: Apical flap positioning increases soft tissue rebound and KT width, mainly at the interdental sites, with reduced patient discomfort. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT05140681, Registration date: 1/12/2021, retrospectively registered).

Effect of psychosocial stress and coping strategies on non-surgical periodontal therapy in patients with generalized stage III/IV periodontitis: a longitudinal intervention study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this longitudinal intervention study was to assess the impact of psychosocial stress and coping response strategies on the clinical outcomes in periodontitis patients treated with non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: After the administration of psychological questionnaires, patients diagnosed with generalized stage III-IV periodontitis were categorized into different groups depending on their stress levels (10-item perceived stress level (PSS-10)) and coping response strategies (coping responses inventory (CRI)). Clinical data were collected 1 week before and 3 months after the completion of NSPT. RESULTS: Of the 90 patients included at baseline, 27 presented major and 63 minor stress levels, while 40 had avoidance and 50 approach coping behavior. All clinical parameters were similar at the baseline across different categories. At re-evaluation, full-mouth bleeding score (FMBS), mean probing pocket depth (PPD), and number of residual pathological pockets were significantly superior in groups with higher stress levels (p <0.001, p =0.001, and p =0.020, respectively), while higher full-mouth plaque scores (FMPS) and FMBS were found in patients with avoidance coping strategies (p =0.009 and p <0.001, respectively). When jointly evaluated, an added detrimental effect of coping styles on allostatic load was observed. Multivariate analysis confirmed a significant effect of stress levels and coping strategies on final FMBS, but not of coping on mean PPD. CONCLUSION: Psychosocial stress and avoidance coping strategy seem to negatively influence the clinical outcomes of NSPT at short term (NCT04739475; 9/1/2017). PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Based on these findings, patients reflecting these psychological profiles should be considered at greater risk for poor NSPT response and may benefit from complementary stress management strategies.

Pocket closure and residual pockets after non-surgical periodontal therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIM: To analyse the efficacy of non-surgical therapy (NST) in terms of pocket closure (PC) and changes in percentage and number of pockets. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus) were searched up to January 2020. Prospective studies with a minimum follow-up of 12 months and presenting data in terms of PC or number or percentage of pocket depths (PDs) before and after NST on systemically healthy patients were included. Random-effect meta-analyses were performed. RESULTS: After screening 4610 titles and abstracts, 27 studies were included. Of these, 63.9% of PC was reported by one study. The percentage of PDs ≤3 mm changed from 39.06% to 64.11% with a weighted mean difference (WMD) of 26.14% (p < .001). This accounted for a relative increase of healthy sites of 64.13%. The mean percentage of PD ≥5 mm was 28.23% and 11.71% before and after treatment, respectively, with a WMD of 15.50% (p < .001). The WMD in the number of PDs ≥5 mm before and after treatment was 24.42 (p = .036). The mean number of residual PPD ≥5 after NST was 14.13. CONCLUSIONS: NST is able to eradicate the majority of the pockets. However, residual pockets after NST may remain and should be considered cautiously for further treatment planning.

Bidirectional Association between Metabolic Control in Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus and Periodontitis Inflammatory Burden: A Cross-Sectional Study in an Italian Population.

This study assessed the periodontal conditions of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients attending an Outpatient Center in North Italy and explored the associations between metabolic control and periodontitis. Periodontal health of 104 T2DM patients (61 men and 43 women, mean age of 65.3 ± 10.1 years) was assessed according to CDC/AAP periodontitis case definitions and Periodontal Inflamed Surface Area (PISA) Index. Data on sociodemographic factors, lifestyle behaviors, laboratory tests, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were collected by interview and medical records. Poor glycemic control (HbA1c ≥ 7%), family history of T2DM, and C-reactive protein levels were predictors of severe periodontitis. An increase in HbA1c of 1% was associated with a rise in PISA of 89.6 mm2. On the other hand, predictors of poor glycemic control were severe periodontitis, waist circumference, unbalanced diet, and sedentary lifestyle. A rise in PISA of 10 mm2 increased the odds of having HbA1c ≥ 7% by 2%. There is a strong bidirectional connection between periodontitis and poor glycemic control. The inflammatory burden posed by periodontitis represents the strongest predictor of poor glycemic control.

Pocket resolution in regenerative treatment of intrabony defects with papilla preservation techniques: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

AIM: To systematically assess the clinical performance of different approaches for periodontal regeneration of intrabony defects in terms of pocket resolution compared to access surgery with papilla preservation techniques (PPTs). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Systematic literature searches were conducted on PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL up to April 2020 to identify RCTs on regenerative treatment [guided tissue regeneration (GTR) or enamel matrix derivative (EMD) with or without biomaterials] of intrabony defects using PPTs. Results were expressed as weighted mean percentages (WMP) or risk ratios of pocket resolution at 12 months (considering both final PD ≤ 3 mm and ≤4 mm). RESULTS: A total of 12 RCTs were included. Based on a final PD ≤ 3 mm or PD ≤ 4 mm, the WMP of pocket resolution was 61.4% and 92.1%, respectively. EMD and GTR obtained comparable results. Pairwise meta-analysis identified a greater probability of achieving pocket resolution for GTR compared to PPTs. The number needed to treat for GTR to obtain one extra intrabony defect achieving PD ≤ 3 mm or PD ≤ 4 mm over PPTs was 2 and 4, respectively. CONCLUSION: Regenerative surgery represents a viable approach to obtain final PD ≤ 4 mm in the short-term.

Periodontal regeneration by leukocyte and platelet-rich fibrin with autogenous bone graft versus enamel matrix derivative with autogenous bone graft in the treatment of periodontal intrabony defects: A randomized non-inferiority trial.

BACKGROUND: Aim of the present study was to ascertain if a combination of leukocyte and platelet-rich fibrin (L-PRF) + autogenous bone graft (ABG) may be a clinically "non-inferior" treatment modality as compared with the association of enamel matrix derivative (EMD) with ABG in the management of intrabony defects (IBDs). METHODS: A total of forty-four patients, exhibiting at least one unfavorable intraosseous defect, were treated by L-PRF associated with ABG (22 patients; test group) or EMD+ABG (control group) in each defect. At baseline and 12 months, a complete clinical and radiographic examination was done. Pre- and post-therapy clinical (probing pocket depth [PPD], clinical attachment level [CAL], gingival recession [GR]) and radiographic (defect Bone level [(DBL)] parameters for the different treatments were compared. To guarantee the test treatment's efficacy 1mm was chosen as non-inferiority margin; for clinical relevance, a second non-inferiority margin = 0.5 mm was set. RESULTS: Clinical and radiographic parameters significantly improved 12 months after surgery in both test and control sites, without inter-groups differences for each measurement. The control group - test group differences for the parameters CAL gain -0.248 mm (-0.618 to 0.122), PPD Reduction -0.397 mm (-0.810 to 0.015), GR Change 0.059 mm (-0.300 to 0.418), DBL Gain -0.250 mm (-0.746 to 0.246) were all within the non-inferiority margin of 0.5 mm. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the L-PRF+ABG combined treatment of non-contained IBDs produces non-inferior results in terms of CAL gain, PPD reduction, GR increase and DBL gain in comparison with the EMD+ABG combination.

Pocket elimination after osseous resective surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIM: To systemically review the available evidence on the clinical performance of osseous resective surgery (ORS) in the treatment of residual periodontal defects in terms of pocket elimination and biological costs in patients with chronic periodontitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three databases (PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane) were searched up to January 2019. Clinical trials with a follow-up duration of at least 12 months after ORS with or without fibre retention technique were included. Quantitative synthesis was conducted with random-effect meta-analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 1,765 studies were retrieved, of which 53 full-text articles were screened by two reviewers. Finally, a total of three RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. Random-effect meta-analysis showed a weighted mean percentage of pocket elimination (final PD ≤ 4 mm) at 12 months of 98.3% (95% CI: 96.8; 99.7) with I2 of 26%. The weighted mean amount of resected bone was 0.87 mm (95% CI: 0.49; 1.25), and the weighted mean increase in gingival recession was 2.13 mm (95% CI: 1.49; 2.78) at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: ORS represents an effective surgical approach for the elimination of residual periodontal pockets in the short to medium term. Additional randomized controlled clinical trials with data on pocket elimination are warranted.

Human intrabony defect regeneration with micrografts containing dental pulp stem cells: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

AIM: The goal of this study was to evaluate if dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) delivered into intrabony defects in a collagen scaffold would enhance the clinical and radiographic parameters of periodontal regeneration. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, 29 chronic periodontitis patients presenting one deep intrabony defect and requiring extraction of one vital tooth were consecutively enrolled. Defects were randomly assigned to test or control treatments which both consisted of the use of minimally invasive surgical technique. The dental pulp of the extracted tooth was mechanically dissociated to obtain micrografts rich in autologous DPSCs. Test sites (n = 15) were filled with micrografts seeded onto collagen sponge, whereas control sites (n = 14) with collagen sponge alone. Clinical and radiographic parameters were recorded at baseline, 6 and 12 months postoperatively. RESULTS: Test sites exhibited significantly more probing depth (PD) reduction (4.9 mm versus 3.4 mm), clinical attachment level (CAL) gain (4.5 versus 2.9 mm) and bone defect fill (3.9 versus 1.6 mm) than controls. Moreover, residual PD < 5 mm (93% versus 50%) and CAL gain ≥4 mm (73% versus 29%) were significantly more frequent in the test group. CONCLUSIONS: Application of DPSCs significantly improved clinical parameters of periodontal regeneration 1 year after treatment.

Regenerative Treatment of Periodontal Intrabony Defects Using Autologous Dental Pulp Stem Cells: A 1-Year Follow-Up Case Series.

The present case series aimed to explore the potential clinical benefits of the application of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) in the regenerative treatment of deep intrabony defects. A total of 11 isolated intrabony defects in 11 chronic periodontitis patients were accessed with a minimally invasive flap and filled with DPSCs loaded on a collagen sponge. A tooth requiring extraction for impaction or malpositioning was used as an autologous source for DPSCs. An average clinical attachment level gain of 4.7 ± 1.5 mm associated with a residual mean probing depth (PD) of 3.2 ± 0.9 mm and remarkable stability of the gingival margin was observed at 1 year. Complete pocket closure (PD < 3 mm) was achieved in 63.6% of the experimental sites. Clinical outcomes were supported by the radiographic analysis showing a bone fill of 3.6 ± 1.9 mm.

Enamel Matrix Derivative Proteins in Combination with a Flapless Approach for Periodontal Regeneration of Intrabony Defects: A 2-Year Prospective Case Series.

The present case series evaluated the potential benefits of a flapless approach in the regenerative treatment of residual deep intrabony defects. In each of 11 patients, one periodontal defect with an intrabony component of ≥ 3 mm was treated regeneratively using enamel matrix derivative combined with a closed surgical technique. Clinical and radiographic parameters were recorded at baseline and at 12 and 24 months postoperatively. All defects experienced favorable clinical and radiographic outcomes at the 24-month follow-up. When considering only sites located in the anterior region, all experienced complete pocket closure.