Effects of various root surface treatments on initial clot formation: a scanning electron microscope study

A study was conducted to evaluate using SEM the earliest events of initial blood clot formation on periodontally diseased root surfaces given various treatments. Six teeth with periodontal disease were extracted from six different subjects and were studied in two individual groups. In the first group the root surfaces were divided into three individual treatment areas: (a) intact periodontal ligament, (b) planed, (c) planed and also treated with 1% citric acid. The root surfaces in the second group were likewise divided into three treatment areas: (a) intact periodontal ligament, (b) planed, (c) planed and topically conditioned with tetracycline HCl. All the roots were reinserted into the original extraction sites, and then removed at either "zero" (less than 5 s), one or 3 min and prepared for SEM evaluation. It was observed that organized clot formation occurred more rapidly in the treatment areas where both root planing and topical conditioning with tetracycline HCl had been done.