Evaluation of periodontal changes following intra-alveolar prosthesis for maxillary cheek tooth extraction in ponies

This study investigated the placement of an intra-alveolar prosthesis of bone substitute on gingival/periodontal health in 5 ponies following repulsion of cheek teeth 108 and 208. In each pony, one randomly chosen alveolus was allowed to heal by second intention while the other was filled with a non-resorbable, biocompatible bone substitute. At 6, 12 and 24-months after surgery, both maxillary arches were evaluated for wear abnormalities and for gingival health using a periodontal scoring system. Recorded changes included development of overgrowths on mandibular cheek teeth, widening of maxillary interproximal spaces due to tooth drift with subsequent food accumulation, gingivitis, and subgingival pocket formation. Diastema formation initially occurred between the maxillary 06 and 07s but resolved after 24-months, whereas the diastemata that developed between the maxillary 09 and 10s remained. It was concluded that maxillary cheek teeth extraction induced progressive changes in the position of adjacent teeth that caused periodontitis. The use of a bone substitute prosthesis in the alveolus did not prevent the development of periodontal disease.