In Vivo Investigation of Six Different Membranes Including Their Physical, Chemical and Biological Properties - a Pilot Study.
In Vivo Investigation of Six Different Membranes Including Their Physical, Chemical and Biological Properties - a Pilot Study.
A wide range of resorbable and non-resorbable membranes have been investigated over the last decades. Barrier membranes protect bone defects from ingrowth of soft tissue cells, provide mechanical stability of the defect area and allow bone progenitor cells to develop within a blood clot that is formed beneath the barrier membrane, taking a minimum of four to six weeks for periodontal tissues and 16-24 weeks for bone1,2.These membranes are utilized to reconstruct bone defects prior to implantation and to cover dehiscences and fenestrations around dental implants.
When aiming to regenerate bone, resorbable or a non - resorbable membranes should be selected depending on location, size and defect area. However, until now the ideal membrane has not been described due to different opinions between authors3,4. Nevertheless, an ideal membrane should maintain its barrier function enough time for new bone formation, and if possible should be resorbable, so that a second surgical procedure for the explantation of the membrane would not be required, thus reducing the morbidity5. However, the use of a barrier membrane is a technique-sensitive procedure that is not free of complications. The main cause of Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR) failure is related to early or late exposure of the membrane, leading to contamination and infection of the biomaterial, irreversibly compromising bone regeneration4,6,7. Consequently, the inflammatory reaction of the surrounding soft tissues may require early removal of the membrane. Other complications, such as the onset of an abscess with purulent exudate, can also lead to a complete failure of GBR even without exposure of the membrane.
It is thought necessary to perform this clinical study due to the lack of information present in the literature about the different types of membranes that exist nowadays, how they act in the human body with or without performing some type of regeneration and how our body acts towards them.