Guided periodontal tissue regeneration in interproximal intrabony defects following treatment with a synthetic bioabsorbable barrier

This study evaluated guided periodontal tissue regeneration (GPTR) wound healing in interproximal intrabony periodontal defects following surgical treatment with a synthetic bioabsorbable barrier made from a copolymer of glycolide and lactide. Periodontal lesions were induced around the mandibular central incisor teeth of 10 adult male rhesus monkeys using orthodontic elastics. Once similar contralateral interproximal defects had been created, the elastics were removed and an oral hygiene program was initiated and maintained until completion of the study. Three weeks after commencing oral hygiene, flap surgery was performed in the mandibular incisor region and the root surfaces were thoroughly scaled and root planed to the apical portion of the defects. On the test sites, a bioabsorbable barrier was placed over the entire interproximal periodontal defect. Control sites did not receive a barrier. Five months after surgery, the animals were sacrificed and the teeth with their supporting periodontium were processed for light microscopic evaluation. Postoperative clinical healing progressed uneventfully and was similar in both control and test sites. Histologic observations from control specimens indicated reparative healing characterized by a long junctional epithelium with limited cementum and bone formation. Test specimens exhibited significantly more new connective tissue attachment, cementum deposition, and bone formation than the control sites (P < 0.001). The barriers had been completely resorbed with no apparent adverse effect on periodontal wound healing. It was concluded that this bioabsorbable barrier facilitated GPTR wound healing in interproximal intrabony periodontal defects.