Establishing nontension primary wound closure of various soft tissue flaps is paramount for optimal postsurgical wound healing. Surgical procedures that require clinical flap manipulation, such as those used with traditional periodontal therapy, periodontal plastic cosmetic surgery, hard and soft tissue regeneration, and the excision of pathologic tissue, also require excellence in execution. Also paramount to clinical success is a thorough understanding of the various techniques of surgery, suturing, and the materials currently available to ensure the desired clinical results. This article will discuss the rationale of specific suturing techniques and suture materials to help the clinician obtain optimal wound closure.
The aim of this study was to compare a second-generation bioactive glass putty biomaterial against platelet rich fibrin in treating grade II furcation defects. Subjects were 15 systemically healthy patients (10 males and 5 females, ages 20-50 with a mean age of 38.33) with 20 mandibular molar class II furcation defects according to Glickman's classification. The 20 mandibular molar furcation defects were randomly allocated as follows: Group I, 10 furcation defects were treated using bioactive glass (NovaBone) bone graft putty material; Group II, 10 furcation defects were treated using platelet rich fibrin (PRF). Customized acrylic stents were fabricated on study casts and trimmed to the height contour of the teeth to serve as a fixed reference point for measurements. The following measurements were collected: gingival index, plaque index, vertical probing depth (from gingival margin to base of the pocket), clinical attachment level (CEJ to the base of the pocket), and horizontal probing depth of furcation involvement (using stent). Results showed that both groups had improvement in gingival index (GI) and plaque index (PI) at the recall intervals. There was an overall reduction in both vertical and horizontal probing depth in both groups; however, the Putty group (Group I) showed consistently more vertical probing depth reduction than the PRF group (Group II) at the end of third month (P-value = 0.0004), sixth month (P-value = 0.00001), and ninth month (P-value = 0.0004). Our conclusion was that use of bioactive glass osteostimulative biomaterial yields superior clinical results, including increased pocket depth reduction of class II furcation defects as compared to an autologous platelet concentrate. The clinical significance of our findings include the ease of use and superior biologic performance of second-generation putty bioglass biomaterials in furcation defects.
An adequate bone base is usually a prerequisite for functionally and aesthetically optimal reconstruction of the soft tissue architecture around a dental implant. In patients with sufficient bone height but insufficient bone width as a result of tooth loss, a jaw enlargement technique with osteotomes combined with soft tissue manipulation may be utilized to facilitate proper implant placement while concomitantly optimizing the aesthetics of the final implant prosthesis. The learning objective of this article is to familiarize the reader with the principles of ridge expansion with tapered osteotomes combined with periodontal plastic soft tissue surgery to aid in proper implant placement and enhance the aesthetic result of the final prosthesis.
Divergent implants in the maxilla can make restoration with removable prosthetics difficult when the implants will not be splinted with a superstructure. Attachments to be used with individual implants require that the implants be within 10 degrees of divergence. This article will address a new angled male designed to fit the locator attachment (female component) that can accommodate up to a 40 degrees divergence.
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