Early healing events following placement of a palatal subperiosteal orthodontic anchor: a pilot study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this report was to describe the initial 8-month healing events of 8 consecutive cases of placement of an onplant device for orthodontic anchorage and to report the results of a questionnaire evaluating subjective patient experience. METHODS: At 2 weeks and at 4 and 8 months after placement of the device, presence or absence of exposure of the device, mobility using gentle finger palpation, and signs of possible inflammation were evaluated. At 8 months, the inflammatory status of the tissue-abutment interface was determined from presence or absence of bleeding and/or suppuration on probing. Patients' experience of pain, discomfort, and acceptance of the treatment were evaluated by the use of visual analog scales. RESULTS: In 7 of the 8 patients, the device became stable and could be used for orthodontic anchorage. In 1 case, infection occurred, and the device was removed. At the 8-month time point, none of the 7 successful devices showed any plaque or any bleeding or suppuration on stimulation with a periodontal probe. Most patients reported little pain/discomfort from the various treatment procedures and indicated that they felt that opting for the onplant treatment had been the right choice. CONCLUSION: The results of this pilot study suggest that placement of the onplant can lead to uneventful healing and stability of the device. Further studies with larger numbers of subjects are necessary to substantiate these findings and to determine the usefulness of this device for orthodontic anchorage.

Probing bone level measurements for determination of the depths of Class II furcation defects.

BACKGROUND: Probing bone measurements as an alternative to open bone measurements to evaluate regenerative procedures in furcation defects do not seem to be used as yet. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the reliability of probing bone measurements in such defects. METHODS: Fifteen patients scheduled for surgical treatment of a total of 30 mandibular molars with buccal or lingual Class II furcation defects were studied. During treatment, duplicate vertical and horizontal recordings of probing attachment levels, probing bone levels, and open bone levels were taken by independent examiners. RESULTS: Deviations of both vertical and horizontal recordings between the first and second examiners were within +/-1 mm in 90% to 100% of examined sites for all 3 measurements. Standard deviations of differences between pairs of duplicate recordings were also similar for the 3 measurements both for vertical and horizontal defect dimensions and amounted to 0.7 to 0.9 mm. On average, vertical and horizontal open bone levels were 0.9 to 1.1 mm deeper than probing bone levels. Probing bone levels, in turn, were 1.1 to 1.5 mm deeper than probing attachment levels. CONCLUSIONS: In view of the consistency demonstrated between probing bone level and open bone level measurements in mandibular Class II defects, coupled with the additional discomfort for the patient of a reentry surgery and a possible reentry traumatic effect, open bone level measurements do not seem necessary or even justified to evaluate effects of periodontal therapy in these defects, and can be substituted by probing bone measurements.