Guided tissue regeneration with and without decalcified freeze-dried bone in mandibular Class II furcation invasions

The purpose of this study was to compare periodontal soft and hard tissue repair using expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membranes with and without decalcified freeze-dried cortical bone allografts (DFDBA). Six patients with 17 mandibular Class II buccal molar furcal invasions received oral hygiene instructions followed by scaling and root planing. Baseline soft tissue measurements with periodontal probes were made to assess probing depths (PD), recession (REC), and probing attachment levels (PAL). After non-surgical therapy, 10 teeth were randomly selected as test sites (ePTFE + DFDBA) and 7 as controls (ePTFE alone). Full-thickness flaps were elevated, and open surgical measurements were made to determine alveolar crestal height (CEJ-AC) and vertical (CEJ-BDF) and horizontal (HPDF) defect depth. The ePTFE membranes were removed at 6 weeks. After 6 months, all sites were reentered and both soft tissue and open surgical measurements recorded. The following mean changes (mm) were found for ePTFE and ePTFE + DFDBA treated sites respectively: decreased PD = 1.5, 2.2; increased REC = 1.3, 1.3; loss(-)/gain PAL = -0.2, 0.8; decreased CEJ-BDF = 3.8, 5.0; increased CEJ-AC = 0.5, 0.4; and decreased HPDF = 2.3, 2.4. None of the changes were statistically significant. The addition of DFDBA to the GTR procedure did not significantly improve any of the mean soft tissue and open surgical measurements between control (ePTFE alone) and test (ePTFE+DFDBA) groups in mandibular Class II buccal furcations. Both treatment procedures resulted in significant decreases in PD, CEJ-BDF, and HPDF and a significant increase in REC. There were no differences for PAL and CEJ-AC within control and test groups seen with this sample. Larger randomized clinical trials are needed to more fully evaluate whether combined graft and GTR procedures offer an advantage over GTR alone.