Soft-tissue wound healing following periodontal surgery and Emdogain® application

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to examine, by clinical means and as patient perception of post-operative events, the effect of Emdogain® (enamel matrix derivative (EMD)) on the healing of soft-tissue wounds following periodontal surgery in comparison to flap surgeries without application of EMD.

Material and Methods: For this study, 22 subjects (nine female and 13 male) who were scheduled for periodontal flap surgery were selected. The mean age for all patients was 49.9 (SD 8.7) years (range, 32–67). Six women and five men were assigned to the test group and three women and eight men were assigned to the control group. All subjects were scheduled, after re-evaluation of the periodontal status 8 weeks after initial treatment, to undergo surgery of the soft tissues, because of existing of probing pocket depth (5 mm or more), on at least three teeth. At random, 11 patients were assigned to control treatment and 11 patients were placed in the test group. All underwent one periodontal flap surgery for the purpose of this study. A modified Widman flap was performed. Patients in the test group received an application of EMD underneath the mucoperiostal flaps and onto the exposed root surfaces. Clinical measurements were taken at four different points in time, at the time of surgery, 1, 4 and 8 weeks after surgery. All subjects filled out a questionnaire every day for the first 7 days following surgery to evaluate post-operative complaints.

Results: Of all parameters evaluated none showed a significant difference between the control and EMD groups, except for gingival swelling at the 1-week assessment, where the EMD group exhibited a higher swelling score. The questionnaire revealed that complaints of oozing of blood from the wound was twice more prevalent 1 day post-surgery in the control (n=6) as in the EMD group (n=3).

Conclusion: This study shows that the early woundhealing of periodontal flap-surgeries in those sites treated with Emdogain® is not different from control sites.