ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) is a common treatment modality for correcting vertical or bony defects in furcations. Multiple materials are used in GTR with allografts and xenografts being the most widely used. Each material has distinctive properties affecting the regenerative potential. A new bone graft combination of xenogeneic/allogeneic may improve the outcome of GTR by providing space maintenance (Xenograft) and osteoinductive potential (Allograft). The aim of this case report is to evaluate the efficacy of the new combined xenogeneic/allogeneic material based on clinical and radiographic outcomes. METHODS: A 34-year-old healthy male presented with vertical bone loss interproximally between #'s 9 and 10. Clinical exam revealed 8 mm probing depth without mobility. The radiographic exam revealed a wide and deep vertical bony defect of 30%-50% bone loss. The defect was treated using a layering technique with xenogeneic/allogeneic bone graft and collagen membrane. RESULTS: The 6- and 12-month follow-ups revealed a significant reduction in probing depths and radiographic bone fill. CONCLUSIONS: GTR using a layering technique of xenogeneic/allogeneic bone graft and collagen membrane showed proper correction of a deep and wide vertical bony defect. The 12-month follow-up revealed healthy periodontium with normal probing depths and bone level.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence, nature, and management of post-surgical emergency after-hours calls in a dental school setting with predoctoral students, graduate students/residents, and faculty providers. METHODS: A patient chart review (March 2018-February 2020) for post-surgical calls through the emergency after-hours pager system was conducted at the Marquette University School of Dentistry. The total number of surgical procedures, procedure type, the timing of call, operator experience, concern, and recommendation given during the call were documented. RESULTS: During the review period, 83 calls (from 75 patients) were recorded after 8,487 surgical procedures (1% of procedures). Patients called 5.4 ± 0.8 days postoperatively. Procedure type affected call prevalence (p = 0.04), with most calls made after extractions (69.9% of all calls; 1% of extractions; 58/5,725), implant placement (6%; 0.9% of implant placements; 5/530) and periodontal plastic surgery (6%; 3.1% of all plastic surgeries; 5/161). The most common concern was pain (72.3%), then swelling (36.1%), bleeding (12%), and infection (9.6%). Operator experience did not affect call prevalence. Recommendations given were next business day follow-up (79.5%), reinforcement of already given postoperative instructions (51.8%), prescription (15.7%), and hospital emergency department (ED) visit (7.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Post-surgical emergency after-hours calls in a dental school setting occur within the first postoperative week and are rare, unrelated to operator experience, typically prompted by pain, and rarely resulting in referral to hospital ED. The use of a pager system is adequate for the management of after-hours emergencies and may reduce self-referrals to the hospital ED.
