OR 46 The effects of a resorbable membrane and hOP-1 on tissue healing following endodontic surgery

Membranes and growth factor proteins have been advocated to improve tissue healing following endodontic surgery. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a resorbable membrane and the osteogenic protein hOP-1 on tissue healing following periradicular surgery. Twenty-four maxillary canine teeth of cats were" used in this investigation. Following root canal therapy and periradicular surgery, eight of the osseous defects were covered with a resorbable membrane and eight were filled with hOP-l. The remaining eight defects received no further treatment and served as controls. The animals were sacrificed twelve weeks later. Block sections containing the maxillary canine teeth and their surrounding tissues were removed, examined histologically, and analyzed statistically. The results showed that the use of the membrane had no significant effect on osseous healing, or new cementum formation on the resected root ends. It was, however, associated with the presence of a significantly greater number of inflammatory cells at the surgical sites (p<0.05). The use of the osteogenic protein hOP-I had no statistically significant effect on the tissue healing of the surgical sites or the number of inflammatory cells present. However, its use was associated with a significant. (P<0.05) decrease in the thickness of new cementum formed on the resected root ends. It is concluded that the use of resorbable membrane and hOP-I may have an adverse effect on healing following periradicular surgery.