We study the osteoinductive effect of the hyaluronic acid (HA) by using an esterified low-molecular HA preparation (EHA) as a coadjuvant in the grafting processes to produce bone-like tissue in the presence of employing autologous bone obtained from intra-oral sites, to treat infra-bone defects without covering membrane. We report on 9 patients with periodontal defects treated by EHA and autologous grafting (4 males and 5 females, all non smokers, with a mean age of 43.8 years for females, 40.0 years for males and 42 years for all the group, in good health) with a mean depth of 8.3 mm of the infra-bone defects, as revealed by intra-operative probes. Data were obtained at baseline before treatment and after 10 days, and subsequently at 6, 9, and 24 months after treatment. Clinical results showed a mean gain hi clinical attachment (gCAL) of 2.6mm of the treated sites, confirmed by radiographic evaluation. Such results suggest that autologous bone combined with EHA seems to have good capabilities in accelerating new bone formation in the infra-bone defects.
Keywords: Guided tissue regeneration; Hyaluronic acid; biomaterials.; bone graft.