A clinical comparison of autogenous bone graft with and without autogenous periodontal ligament graft in the treatment of periodontal intrabony defects

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of autogenous bone graft (ABG) with and without autogenous periodontal ligament graft (PDLG) in the management of human two-wall intrabony periodontal defects. Twenty-six similar two-wall intrabony periodontal defects with >= 5 mm probing depths and >= 3 mm depths of intrabony component in 13 nonsmoking healthy patients were selected. One defect in each subject was treated with ABG alone (ABG group) and the contralateral one with ABG and PDLG (PDLG group). The primary outcomes of the study included changes in clinical probing depth (CPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL). Groups showed statistically significant improvements in soft and hard tissue parameters after 6 months. However, the between-group differences after 6 months were not statistically significant with regard to soft and hard tissue measurements except CAL gain. In the combined group, it was significantly higher than the ABG group (3.69 and 2 mm, respectively; P = 0.03). Within the limits of this study, both treatments resulted in marked clinical improvement, but combined treatment seemed to enhance the results in the treatment of two-wall intrabony defects.