Treatment of Naturally Occurring Periodontitis in Dogs With a New Bio-Absorbable Regenerative Matrix

Although periodontal disease is one of the most common (oral) diseases in dogs, an effective treatment approach to periodontitis lacks. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a regenerative, bio-absorbable implant biomaterial made of medical-grade porcine gelatin, which is cross-linked by transglutaminase into a porous scaffold for the treatment of periodontitis in dogs in a clinical setting. Nine client-owned dogs were included in this multicenter, prospective interventional clinical study. A split-mouth design was used to treat any teeth with periodontitis; teeth on one side of the mouth were treated with open periodontal therapy alone (control teeth) and teeth on the other side were treated with open periodontal therapy and the tested implant (teeth treated with the implant). A recheck under general anesthesia was performed 3 months after the initial treatment and included periodontal probing, dental radiographs, and/or cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) of the teeth included in the study. This revealed a reduction of the probing depth (PD) at all teeth, but in teeth treated with the implant, a statistically significant improvement (average 2.0 mm) over control teeth (average 1.0 mm) was diagnosed. Similarly, alveolar bone height was increased at most of the teeth, but in teeth treated with the implant, a statistically significant improvement (average 1.26 mm palatally and 1.51 mm buccally) over control teeth (average 0.58 mm palatally and 0.7 mm buccally) was observed for the buccal site. Open periodontal therapy alone improves clinical parameters and alveolar bone height in dogs with periodontitis, which is further significantly improved by the addition of the implant used.