Clinical concepts for regenerative therapy in furcations

Abstract
Furcation involvements present one of the greatest challenges in periodontal therapy because furcation‐involved molar teeth respond less favorably to conventional periodontal therapy compared with noninvolved molar or nonmolar teeth. Various regenerative procedures have been proposed and applied with the aim of eliminating the furcation defect or reducing the furcation depth. An abundance of studies and several systematic reviews have established the effectiveness of membrane therapy (guided tissue regeneration) for buccal Class II furcation involvement of mandibular and maxillary molars compared with open flap surgery. Bone grafts/substitutes may enhance the results of guided tissue regeneration. However, complete furcation closure is not a predictable outcome. Limited data and no meta‐analyses are available on the effects of enamel matrix proteins for furcation regeneration. Enamel matrix protein therapy has demonstrated clinical improvements in the treatment of buccal Class II furcation defects in mandibular molars; however, complete closure of the furcation lesion is achieved only in a minority of cases. Neither guided tissue regeneration nor enamel matrix protein therapy have demonstrated predictable results for approximal Class II and for Class III furcations. Promising preclinical data from furcation regeneration studies in experimental animals is available for growth factor‐ and differentiation factor‐based technologies, but very limited data are avai...

Source: Periodontology 2000 - April 13, 2015 Category: Dentistry Authors: Mariano Sanz, Karin Jepsen, Peter Eickholz, Søren Jepsen Tags: Original Article Source Type: research