Tetracycline fibres used to control bacterial infection during guided tissue regeneration (GTR)

The colonization of suspected periodontal pathogens during the healing of periodontal defects treated by guided tissue regeneration (GTR) with e-PTFE membranes and tetracycline fibers was investigated.

Fifteen patients, each with one pair of angular periodontal bone defects of comparable size and morphology were recruited for the study. In a matched-pair study design, the test defects were treated with e-PTFE membranes in combination with tetracycline fibers, while control defects were treated with e-PTFE membranes alone. Microbiological specimens were taken from control as well as from test sites preoperatively (T0), intraoperatively (T1), two weeks after surgery (T2) and from membranes at time of removal (T3). Cultural methods were used to identify the following species: Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), Prevotella intermedia (Pi), Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) and Actinobacillus actinomicetemcomitans (Aa).

At baseline and T1, none of the suspected periodontal pathogens were detected at test or control sites. Levels of P. intermedia and F. nucleatum, as mean percentages of total culturable microflora, were detected at levels significantly higher in control sites than test sites at times T2 and T3.

Findings from this study suggest that e-PTFE membranes are frequently colonized by periodontal pathogens, and that bacterial colonization of healing sites after GTR procedures can be kept under control with a controlled delivery system releasing tetracycline.