Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease that causes pathological alterations in the teeth and their supporting tissues, potentially leading to tooth loss. Despite the remarkably high standards of professional periodontal care, incomplete adult dentitions or edentulism are still evident. Several procedures have been attempted to achieve periodontal regeneration, including root surface conditioning, bone graft placement, guided tissue regeneration (GTR). Tissue engineering is a multidisciplinary field which involves the application of the principles and methods of engineering and life sciences...

Research has provided evidence that chronic inflammatory periodontal diseases are treatable. Studies have also been directed at providing information to permit better understanding of mechanisms of disease progression and pathogenesis in order to make a treatment of periodontal disease more effective and predictable. As a result of advances in knowledge and therapy, the great majority of patients retain their dentition over their life time with proper treatment, reasonable plaque control, and continuing maintenance care. However, there are some situations when traditional therapy is not...

Local antimicrobial therapy has become an established part of the armamentaria for the reduction of plaque and gingival inflammation in the treatment of gingivitis. The antimicrobial agent chlorhexidine possesses most of the characteristics of the ideal antimicrobial. That is, it is safe; clinically effective in reducing plaque and gingivitis, has substantivity; affects the pathogenic flora and is acceptable in terms of taste, cost, and ease of use. Recently a new approach using local delivery system containing antibiotic or antiseptic drugs has been introduced. These systems allow the...

Implant failure is a result of a multifactorial process. Dental implants failures can be attributed to many reasons through the different stages of treatment. Implant failure can occur right from the selection of the patient for implant, at treatment planning, at surgical stages, at prostheses designing, fabrication and at the maintenance of implant. Most failures occur in the initial healing period or following abutment connection and initial loading. Long term complications are associated with general wear and tear, inadequate attention to oral hygiene, poorly controlled occlusal forces,...

A proper and true periodontal diagnosis is essential in order to have rational treatment and preventive strategy and to identify sites at risk in periodontitis patients. Traditional clinical criteria are inadequate in determining the sites showing active tissue destruction, monitoring the response to therapy as well as to measure susceptibility to future periodontal break down. Recent immunocytochemically based approach has offered a new avenue in periodontal diagnostic research. The availability of complementary information on pathologically altered tissues has provided new diagnostic...