Periodontal conditions of sites treated with gingival-augmentation surgery compared to untreated contralateral homologous sites: a 10- to 27-year long-term study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this retrospective long-term split-mouth study was to compare the periodontal conditions of sites treated with gingival-augmentation procedures to untreated homologous contralateral sites over a long period of time (10 to 27 years). METHODS: Fifty-five subjects with 73 sites (test group) lacking attached gingiva associated with recessions were treated by means of submarginal free gingival grafts (SMFGGs) and marginal free gingival grafts (MFGGs). The 73 contralateral homologous sites (control group), with or without recession and with or without attached gingiva, were not treated. Patients were recalled every 4 months during the follow-up period (10 to 27 years). Clinical variables, including recession depth, amount of keratinized tissue (KT), and probing depth (PD), were measured in treated and untreated sites at baseline, at 1 year, and at the end of the follow-up period. RESULTS: At the end of the follow-up period, recession was reduced in all treated sites (1.5 +/- 1.0 mm for SMFGG and 1.3 +/- 0.9 mm for MFGG), whereas it was increased in the untreated sites (-0.7 +/- 0.7 mm for SMFGG and -1.0 +/- 0.5 mm for MFGG). In the treated sites, the increased KT remained quite stable during the follow-up period. PD remained stable (1 mm) in the treated and untreated sites. CONCLUSIONS: The sites treated with gingival-augmentation surgery showed a tendency for coronal displacement of the gingival margin with a reduction in recession. The contralateral untreated sites showed a tendency for apical displacement of the gingival margin with an increase in the existing recessions.

TT virus infection of periodontal tissues: a controlled clinical and laboratory pilot study.

BACKGROUND: A novel single-strand, circular DNA virus has been recently isolated and named TT virus (TTV). It has been demonstrated that peripheral blood cells harbor TTV DNA, suggesting that the virus might replicate in lymphoid cells and contribute to lymphocyte imbalances with consequent immunosuppressive effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of TTV DNA in healthy and periodontally compromised subjects, evaluating the presence of the virus in the gingiva and saliva, and comparing virological results with clinical data. METHODS: Twenty-one patients (seven males and 14 females, aged 25 to 76 years) were enrolled in the study. Eleven subjects were diagnosed with moderate periodontitis, while 10 were periodontally healthy. A sample of saliva was taken from each patient before recording the periodontal data; subsequently, a gingival biopsy was performed. A real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to quantify the presence of TTV DNA in saliva and gingival specimens. RESULTS: A statistically significant association was found between TTV in gingival tissue and the presence of periodontitis (P = 0.0351), while no association was observed between TTV in saliva and the presence of periodontitis (P = 0.4762). CONCLUSIONS: A new DNA virus (TTV) was first identified in the gingival tissue and was found to be significantly associated with the presence of periodontitis. These findings need to be investigated in further studies.

Periodontal pathogens in atheromatous plaques. A controlled clinical and laboratory trial.

OBJECTIVE: A possible relationship between periodontitis and cardiovascular disease has been suggested. The aims of this controlled clinical study were: (i) to ascertain the presence of periodontal bacteria DNA [Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Tannerella forsythensis (formerly Bacteroides forsythus)] in carotid atheromatous plaques and (ii) to assess the concomitant presence of the same periodontal bacteria DNA, if any, in periodontal pockets and in carotid atheroma in the same patient. METHODS: A total of 52 patients scheduled for carotid endarderectomy were enrolled in this study. The test group consisted of 26 dentate patients; the control group included 26 edentulous patients. A complete periodontal examination, including radiographic orthopanoramic and subgingival plaque sample, was performed in the test population. Oral and X-ray examinations were performed in the control group. Atheromatous plaques were harvested during surgical procedure for each dentate and edentulous patient and then sent to the microbiological laboratory. Subgingival plaque samples and carotid specimens were examined using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique by means of specific primers for periodontal bacteria. Amplification of extracted DNA was tested using human beta-globin specific-primers. RESULTS: Out of 52 endarterectomy samples, 12 (seven dentate, five edentulous patients) were excluded as negative to DNA amplification. In subgingival plaque samples of 19 test patients, T. forsythensis (79%), F. nucleatum (63%), P. intermedia (53%), P. gingivalis (37%) and A. actinomycetemcomitans (5%) were found. No periodontal bacteria DNA was detected by PCR in any of the carotid samples in either patient group. CONCLUSION: The presence of periodontal bacteria DNA in atheromatous plaques could not be confirmed by this study and thus no correlation could be established between species associated with periodontal disease and putative bacteria contributing to atheromatous plaques.

[Diabetes mellitus as a risk factor for periodontitis]. / Il diabete mellito come fattore di rischio per la parodontite.

Diabetes mellitus is an important disease of the endocrine system. Many studies have associated this disease to the pathogenesis and the severity of periodontal disease. The aim of this article is to illustrate the relation between diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease. Many studies show an important association between diabetes and the pathogenesis of periodontal disease. Vascular changes caused by hyperglycemia are associated to the development of periodontal pathogens species. Moreover diabetics show an exacerbate host response with hyperproduction of inflammatory mediators and polymorphonuclear dysfunction. Diabetics with good metabolic control and patients with good oral hygiene show a reduced risk of periodontitis. In conclusion, diabetes mellitus (IDDM and NIDDM) is an important risk factor for periodontitis. Odds Ratio is 3. Diabetes mellitus determines changes in bacterial population and production of inflammatory mediators, and reduces the efficacy of the host response. Good controlled diabetes do not cause a major risk of periodontitis and improve the results of the periodontal therapy. Moreover periodontal therapy may reduce the request of insulin in diabetics. It is reasonable a two-ways relation between diabetes and periodontal disease.

Oral Acanthosis nigricans as a marker of internal malignancy. A case report.

BACKGROUND: Acanthosis nigricans (AN) is a rare mucocutaneous condition that can involve the oral tissues. There are 2 clinical forms of AN: benign and malignant. Benign AN is related to systemic diseases such as diabetes and obesity or can be induced by drugs such as systemic corticosteroids, nicotinic acid, estrogens, insulin, and fusidic acid. Malignant AN appears in association with tumors such as lung, ovarian, breast, and gastric carcinoma. METHODS: A rare case of malignant AN that initially manifested in the oral cavity of a 73-year-old patient is reported. RESULTS: A bladder and lung carcinoma were detected following the diagnosis of AN. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic importance of oral AN is emphasized because, in our patient, its recognition led to the detection of 2 occult malignant tumors.

Tissue engineering technology for gingival augmentation procedures: a case report.

Tissue engineering technology has been used in periodontal surgery. A patient who needed gingival augmentation prior to a single prosthetic restoration was treated by means of a tissue engineering technique. Results are presented in this case report.

Advances in mucogingival surgery.

The term Mucogingival Surgery was proposed by Friedman in 1957 to indicate any surgery "designed to preserve attached gingiva, to remove frena or muscle attachment, and to increase the depth of the vestibule". The aim of this type of surgery was to maintain an adequate amount of attached gingiva and to prevent continuous loss of attachment. This philosophy was supported by many horizontal observations in humans that confirmed the need for a certain band of attached gingiva to maintain periodontal tissue in a healthy state. Subsequently, clinical and experimental studies by Wennström and Lindhe (1983) demonstrated that as long as plaque buildup is kept under careful control there is no minimum width of keratinised gingiva necessary to prevent the development of periodontal disease. These observations reduce the importance of Mucogingival Surgery. Surgical techniques are used mostly to solve aesthetic problems, since the term "Periodontal Plastic Surgery" has been suggested to indicate surgical procedures performed to correct or eliminate anatomical, developmental or traumatic deformities of the gingiva or alveolar mucosa. More recently the Consensus Report of the American Academy of Periodontology (1996) defines Mucogingival Therapy as "non surgical and surgical correction of the defects in morphology, position and/or amount of soft tissue and underlying bone". This assigns importance to non-surgical therapy and to the bone condition because of its influence on the morphology of the defects. In this respect the Mucogingival Therapy includes: Root coverage procedures, Gingival augmentation, Augmentation of the edentulous ridge, Removing of the aberrant frenulum, Prevention of ridge collapse associated with tooth extraction, Crown lengthening, Teeth that are not likely to erupt, Loss of interdental papilla which presents an aesthetic and/or phonetic problem.

Localized soft tissue ridge augmentation at phase 2 implant surgery: a case report.

A case of congenitally missing maxillary lateral incisors is presented to illustrate a modification of Abrams's roll technique. Buccal releasing incisions are avoided by using an intrasulcular incision on the adjacent teeth. The tissue overlying the cover screw is transferred between the buccal cortical bone and the buccal masticatory mucosa, thus correcting the localized buccal ridge atrophy.

The simplified papilla preservation flap. A novel surgical approach for the management of soft tissues in regenerative procedures.

A novel surgical procedure specifically designed to access interdental spaces in the regenerative treatment of deep intrabony defects is presented. This procedure (simplified papilla preservation flap, SPPF) was designed to provide surgical access to interproximal bony defects while preserving interdental soft tissues, even in narrow interdental spaces and posterior teeth. A modified mattress suture allows coronal positioning of the buccal flap and primary closure of the interdental space without tension. The modified mattress suture minimizes the collapse of the membrane into the defect. An experimental population of 18 patients in good general health who presented with one intrabony defect each was selected for this clinical study. The application of the SPPF in combination with bioresorbable membranes resulted in clinical attachment level (CAL) gains of 4.9 +/- 1.8 mm at 1 year. The difference between baseline CAL and 1 year CAL was highly clinically and statistically significant. The residual pockets at 1 year measured 3.6 +/- 1.2 mm. A slight increase in gingival recession was noted. Primary closure of the flap in the interdental space over the membrane was obtained in 100% of the cases after completion of surgery and maintained in 67% of the cases during the healing period. The application of SPPF in combination with bioresorbable barrier membranes allowed primary closure of the interdental space in most of the treated sites and resulted in consistent CAL gains at 1 year.

A controlled multicenter study of adjunctive use of tetracycline periodontal fibers in mandibular class II furcations with persistent bleeding.

The aim of this randomized single-blind multicenter controlled clinical trial was to clinically evaluate the effectiveness of adjunctive local controlled drug delivery in the control of bleeding on probing in mandibular class II furcations during maintenance care. 127 patients presenting with a class II mandibular furcation with bleeding on probing were included in the study. They had been previously treated for periodontitis and were participating in supportive care programs in periodontal specialty practices. Treatments consisted of scaling and root planing with oral hygiene instructions (control) and scaling and root planing and oral hygiene combined with local controlled drug delivery with tetracycline fibers (test). The following outcomes were evaluated at baseline and 3 and 6 months after therapy at the furcation site: bleeding on controlled force probing (BOP), probing pocket depth (PD) and clinical attachment levels (CAL). Levels of oral hygiene and smoking status were also assessed. Both test and controls resulted in significant improvements of BOP and PD at 3 and 6 months. The test treatment, however, resulted in significantly better improvements: BOP decreased by 52% in the control group and by 70% in the test group at 3 months; at 6 months, however, the difference was no longer significant. The test treatment resulted in a 0.5 mm greater reduction of PD than the control at 3 months, the improvement was highly significant but its duration did not extend until the 6 months evaluation. No differences were observed in terms of changes in CAL. These data indicate that addition of tetracycline fibers to mechanical therapy alone resulted in improved control of periodontal parameters during periodontal maintenance of class II mandibular furcations. Short duration of the effect, however, requires further investigations to optimize conservative treatment of these challenging defects.

A protocol for maintaining or increasing the width of masticatory mucosa around submerged implants: a 1-year prospective study on 53 patients.

Masticatory mucosa around implants may be useful to enhance esthetics and/or plaque control. This study proposes simplified guidelines for maintaining or obtaining a minimal amount of masticatory mucosa around submerged implants in cases of partial edentulism, and for keeping the need for additional surgery to a minimum. Free gingival grafts were used in the mandibular arch when the width of buccal masticatory mucosa was less than 2 mm. The width of masticatory mucosa expected to be available for attachment to the bone surface buccal to implants was estimated by measuring the distance between the emergence of the implant from bone and the mucogingival junction. When this distance was 3 mm or less, the use of an apically positioned flap for implant exposure was preferred over gingivectomy. The amount of masticatory mucosa buccal to implants was measured 2 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months after implant exposure. In no case was the width of masticatory mucosa less than 2 mm at 1 year. Therefore, this protocol is recommended for the treatment of cases where the presence of an adequate amount of masticatory mucosa is necessary to ensure a satisfying appearance or is useful for facilitating oral hygiene.

Factors affecting the healing response of intrabony defects following guided tissue regeneration and access flap surgery.

Identification and control of significant factors determining clinical outcomes is of paramount importance to improve expected results of a variety of therapeutic procedures. The aim of this investigation was to identify, with a multivariate approach, factors associated with healing outcomes of 3 periodontal surgical procedures in deep intrabony defects. 45 patients with evidence of deep intrabony defects were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups: access flap (group C), conventional guided tissue regeneration (GTR) with non-resorbable expanded polytetrafluoroethilene (ePTFE) membranes (group B), and GTR with self supporting membranes combined with the modified papilla preservation technique (group A). In both GTR procedures, membranes were positioned coronal to the interproxymal alveolar crest. Primary outcome variables (i.e., probing attachment level gains at 1 year and the amount of newly formed tissue present at membrane removal) were explained in terms of a series of patient, defect morphology and surgical factors, using a multivariate approach. Highly significant treatment effects were observed, indicating that the 3 tested therapeutic modalities resulted in significant differences in primary outcome variables. Detailed analysis assessing the significance of the tested factors in determining the healing outcomes following each procedure was performed with a stepwise elimination approach of non-significant factors. The results indicated that: (i) the need to create and maintain space should be a key objective of regenerative approaches based upon the principles of guided tissue regeneration; (ii) control of patient's oral hygiene and residual periodontal infection in the oral cavity are strongly associated with clinical outcomes of both regenerative and conventional surgical procedures and should receive proper attention.

No detrimental effect of fibrin glue on the regeneration of intrabony defects. A controlled clinical trial.

This controlled clinical trial evaluated the potential of fibrin glue as a biological carrier to locally deliver guided tissue regeneration (GTR) modulators, 2 controlateral, morphologically similar defects were selected in each of 11 patients and randomly assigned to the test (teflon membrane and fibrin glue) and the control treatment (teflon membrane alone). Outcomes were assessed at membrane removal as newly formed granulation tissue and at the 1-year follow-up in terms of changes in probing attachment level, probing pocket depth, recession of the gingival margin, probing bone levels and percentage of fill of the intrabony defects. Data confirmed that GTR treatment of deep intrabony defects results in clinically and statistically significant improvements of the clinical parameters. No significant differences, however, were evidenced between the test and the control treatments. It is suggested that, since fibrin glue did not show detrimental effects on GTR, it could be applied as a biological carrier for the delivery of GTR enhancers into the surgical wound.

Resorbable membrane in the treatment of human buccal recession: a nine-case report.

Recent studies have reported the successful use of guided tissue regeneration procedures with nonresorbable barrier membranes to treat buccal recession in humans. Nonresorbable membranes, however, require a reentry procedure for removal, disturbing the delicate healing process. Resorbable membranes were used in a guided tissue regeneration procedure in nine patients with one site of buccal recession each. The resorbable barrier yielded satisfactory clinical results, providing significant gains in probing attachment and root coverage. However, both the surgical technique and the design of the barrier used require improvement for application at sites of buccal recession.

The modified papilla preservation technique. A new surgical approach for interproximal regenerative procedures.

A modification of the papilla preservation technique has been applied to achieve primary closure of the interproximal tissue over barrier membranes placed coronal to the alveolar crest. Fifteen patients with deep intrabony interproximal defects were treated. Defects had a probing attachment level loss of 9.9 +/- 3.2 mm and a recession of the gingival margin of 1.7 +/- 1.6 mm. The depth of the intrabony component was 5.5 +/- 2.9 mm; while the suprabony component was 5.9 +/- 2.0 mm. Titanium-reinforced teflon membranes were placed 1.3 +/- 0.7 mm from the cemento-enamel junction, 4.5 +/- 1.6 mm coronal to the interproximal alveolar bone crest. Primary closure over the interproximal portion of the membrane was obtained in 93% of cases. In 73% of the cases complete coverage of the membrane was maintained until its removal at 6 weeks. These data indicate that the modified papilla preservation technique can be successfully applied to obtain primary closure of the interdental space in regenerative procedures with barrier membranes.

Guided tissue regeneration with a rubber dam: a five-case report.

Five cases are presented to document the use of an unusual barrier in the treatment of infrabony defects according to the principles of guided tissue regeneration. A rubber dam was positioned after flap elevation, defect debridement, and root planing to cover the defect and the surrounding bone. The dam was covered with the surgical flap and removed after 5 weeks. The 1-year clinical measurements and reentry procedure demonstrated the efficacy of the rubber dam as a barrier in guided tissue regeneration procedures.

Tunnel traction of infraosseous impacted maxillary canines. A three-year periodontal follow-up.

A surgical orthodontic procedure was used to treat deep infraosseous impacted canines (test teeth) associated with the persistence of the deciduous tooth in 15 patients who had the contralateral canine normally erupted (control teeth). The periodontal outcome was evaluated at the end of the orthodontic treatment and 3 years later. After extraction of the deciduous canine, a mucoperiosteal flap was raised on the buccal (seven cases) or palatal (eight cases) aspect, to expose the cusp of the impacted tooth. The empty socket of the deciduous tooth was extended to reach the impacted cusp and to form an osseous tunnel. A chain was passed through the tunnel and fixed to a bonded device on the impacted cusp. The flap was sutured back into its original position. The chain was used for traction to the impacted canine toward the center of the alveolar ridge. No attachment loss and no recession were observed at the end of the active therapy or 3 years later. No significant differences in keratinized tissue width were observed between test and control teeth at the follow-up examination.

Guided tissue regeneration and a free gingival graft for the management of buccal recession: a case report.

Five patients with buccal gingival recession (4 to 6 mm) underwent surgical treatment consisting of a guided tissue regeneration procedure associated with a free gingival graft. The graft was used to cover the newly formed tissue on the root surface at the reentry. Root coverage was complete in three patients, while 1 mm of recession remained in the other two patients. The free gingival graft reconstructed the keratinized tissue, which had been lost because of recession. Moreover, it allowed the mucogingival junction, which had been displaced coronally during the first surgery, to be realigned, therefore preventing a shallowing of the vestibule.