title: Influence of endodontic treatment in the post-surgical healing of human Class II furcation defects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Treatment of molar furcation defects remains a considerable challenge in clinical practice. The degree of success in the management of furcation involvement is highly variable and related to the baseline clinical status of these defects. The identification of clinical parameters influential to the treatment outcomes is critical to optimize the results of surgical periodontal therapy. The impact of the endodontic treatment (ET) of the tooth on the healing potential of the periodontium is controversial. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the clinical response of buccal Class II furcation defects to open-flap debridement (OFD) and to determine the influence of ET in the clinical outcomes of therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty patients were divided into two treatment groups (n = 30): 1) OFD; and 2) OFD in endodontically treated teeth (OFD + ET). The clinical variables evaluated were plaque (full-mouth plaque score), bleeding on probing, gingival recession, probing depth (PD), and vertical (VAL) and horizontal (HAL) attachment levels. Reevaluation was performed 12 months after the surgical procedures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both treatments resulted in improvements in all the clinical variables evaluated. Postoperative measurements from OFD-treated and OFD + ET-treated sites showed, respectively, 1.2 ± 1.2 and 1.3 ± 1.3 mm reduction in PD, 0.6 ± 0.8 and 0.7 ± 0.6 mm VAL gains, and 0.7 ± 1.1 and 0.8 ± 1.6 mm HAL gains. No significant differences were found between the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present findings demonstrate that adequate endodontic therapy performed ≥6 months before surgical treatment does not significantly influence the clinical parameters of healing of human mandibular buccal Class II furcation defects.
authors: Department of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, Federal Fluminense University, Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors: Jose Luis C
authors: JL
authors: de Miranda
authors: Carolina Miller M
authors: CM
authors: Santana
authors: Ronaldo B
authors: RB
authors: Santana
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003646:Debridement; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D005260:Female; D017823:Furcation Defects / Q000601:surgery*; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000145:classification; D005889:Gingival Recession / Q000145:classification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008963:Molar / Q000473:pathology*; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000145:classification; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000145:classification; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012390:Root Canal Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology