Treatment of intrabony defects with beta-tricalciumphosphate alone and in combination with platelet-rich plasma

Background: The therapeutic efficacy of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) still remains controversial. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of a beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) and PRP/beta-TCP combination both clinically and radiographically. Methods: Fourteen chronic periodontitis patients with at least two similar three-walled defects were included in the study. Each patient was randomly treated with both beta-TCP (n 14) and PRP/beta-TCP (n = 14) in the same session. Baseline and 6-month evaluations of plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL), gingival recession (GR), bleeding on probing, and radiographic intrabony defect depth (RIDD) were assessed statistically. Results: At 6 months, statistically significant reductions of GI, PPD, BOP, and RIDD were observed in both groups. The median values of CAL decreased from 7.0 to 6.0 mm in the bTCP group (p 0.002), and 7.5 to 5.0 mm in the PRP/beta-TCP group (p < 0.001). No statistically significant difference was detected between the two groups for all clinical indices. Conclusion: After a 6-month healing period, both beta-TCP and PRP/beta-TCP were found effective in the treatment of three-walled intrabony defects and no additional statistically significant benefits were found with PRP. VC 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 100B: 976983, 2012.