Volumetric Changes Following Barrier Regeneration Procedures for the Surgical Management of Grade II Molar Furcation Defects in Baboons: II. Bone, Cementum, and Connective Tissue

In Part I, a computer imaging technique was used to measure the volumetric fill that occurred in surgically created grade II molar furcation defects after they had been treated using the principles of guided tissue regeneration. In Part II, the volumetric fill for each of the specific tissues comprising the defect fill (epithelium, connective tissue, bone, and cementum) was compared. The histologic material consisted of defects treated using one of three types of surgical treatment as well as untreated control sites. All volumetric measurements were expressed as a percentage of the original surgcially created defect size, with 100% indicating complete healing of the defect. The results indicate that none of the defects achieved complete healing. Teeth receiving flap debridement had the most overall defect fill (79.50% comprised of 17.13% bone, 35.81% connective tissue, 37.35% epithelium, and 9.71% cementu m). Teeth that received a biodegradable barrier showed a mean overall defect fill of 74.98% (7.41% bone, 47.13% connective tissue, 36.20% epithelium, and 9.26% cementum). Sites treated with an exclusion barrier showed 70.75% overall fill (9.63% bone, 40.89% connective tissue, 39.00% epithelium, and 10.48% cementum). The untreated control teeth showed a mean overall fill of 78.70% (5.56% bone, 59.11% connective tissue, 31.06% epithelium, and 4.27% cementum). No significant differences were found among teeth within the same animal and between treatment and controls. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) connective tissue comprised nearly one half of the total fill of the surgically created defects; (2) the percentage of new bone growth was significantly lower than anticipated; and (3) no significant differences were found amo ng the treatment modalities and the untreated control sites for each of the specific tissue types.