Clinical long-term evaluation of hydroxyapatite granules implantation in periodontal defects

Materials foreign to the patient's body are routinely used in medicine. In dentistry, in order to maintain the stability of dental elements, dentists fill the periodontal pockets with allograft or xenograft materials, that can work to keep the room open until the bony tissue fills it again, and/or to stimulate the bone growth itself. According to the function of their activity in the biological tissues they can be divided into two classes: osteo-conductive or osteo-inductive materials. Calcium-phosphates are considered in general to be osteo-inductive, since, when degrading, they release calcium and phosphate ions capable of inducing new-bone growth. This paper deals with the clinical long-term results of hydroxyapatite granules implanted in an anterior maxillar bone defect. Through physical and biological analyses carried out on the explanted biopsy, the Authors conclude that that type of material was only osteo-conductive.