Histologic and clinical responses to porous hydroxylapatite implants in human periodontal defects. Three to twelve months postimplantation.

Twelve intrabony periodontal lesions in three volunteers received surgical debridement followed by site implantation of porous hydroxylapatite implants. These patients were followed over a total of a 1-year observation period. Blocks of treated sites were surgically removed at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after implantation. Clinical observation indicated a reduction in pocket depth consisting of both recession and clinical gain of attachment. No ill effects were observed. Histologic examination of the treated sites showed ossification of the implant pores and the implant periphery as early as 3 months after implantation, which became pronounced 12 months after placement. At times, peripheral ossification linked with crestal osseous seams. This ossification occurred in the presence of an adjacent root covering, long junctional epithelium, and thus there was no new attachment. On the other hand, this graft material offers the potential of increasing new bone mass within a human intrabony lesion.