title: Comparative study of ultrasonic instrumentation for the non-surgical treatment of interproximal and non-interproximal furcation involvements.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this clinical trial was to compare the outcome of non-surgical treatment of interproximal and non-interproximal Class II furcation involvements.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-eight patients presenting at least one Class II furcation involvement that bled on probing with a probing depth (PD) > or = 5 mm were recruited. Furcation involvements were grouped as either buccal and lingual furcation involvements (BLFI) or interproximal furcation involvements (IFI). The following clinical outcomes were evaluated: visible plaque index, bleeding on probing (BOP), position of the gingival margin, relative attachment level (RAL), PD, and relative horizontal attachment level (RHAL). N-benzoyl-l-arginine-p-nitroanilide (BAPNA) testing was used to analyze trypsin-like activity in dental biofilm. All parameters were evaluated at baseline and 1, 3, and 6 months after non-surgical subgingival instrumentation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six months after treatment, both groups had similar means of RAL and RHAL gain (P >0.05). These variables were 1.22 and 1.07 mm in the IFI group and 1.38 and 1.20 mm in the BLFI group, respectively. The PD reduction was significantly greater in the BLFI group than in the IFI group (2.59 and 2.11 mm, respectively; P <0.05). The BLFI group presented fewer sites with PD > or = 5 mm than the IFI group at all post-treatment periods. At 6 months, the BAPNA test showed that only the BLFI group had values significantly different from baseline. This means that the BLFI group had significantly lower BAPNA values compared to the IFI group at 6 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Buccal and lingual Class II furcation involvements respond better to non-surgical therapy compared to interproximal Class II furcation involvements.
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics and Periodontics, Division of Periodontics, School of Dentistry at Piracicaba, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Del Peloso Ribeiro
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bittencourt
authors.forename: Francisco H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Nociti
authors.forename: Enilson A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Sallum
authors.forename: Antônio W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Sallum
authors.forename: Márcio Zaffalon
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Casati
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001586:Benzoylarginine Nitroanilide; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000201:enzymology / Q000382:microbiology; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D012534:Dental Scaling / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017823:Furcation Defects / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D010512:Periodontal Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014464:Ultrasonic Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D001586:Benzoylarginine Nitroanilide