[Wound healing of a bone defect following a bone graft combined with a desmodontal tissue graft]

An experimental periodontitis was produced in the upper right and left maxillary molar regions of three dogs. The apical zone of the bony defects were marked by cutting grooves into the root surfaces. The right side was used as a control while on the left side, the bony defect was treated with a graft of ligament tissue. The graft was obtained from a neighbouring area after removing the external wall of bone and sampling with a bone chisel. Four months after the grafting the dogs were sacrificed and an optical microscopic study was performed. One of the dogs died three days after operation. In the other two dogs a reattachment was observed in the groove on the control side: coronally to the groove, a long epithelial attachment was present between the radicular wall and the connective tissue. On the experimental side of dog 1, a reattachment was obtained up to the level of the cemento-enamel junction. In dog 2, a complete failure was noted since an important epithelial growth has migrated and invaded the radicular groove.