Bovine collagen can enhance the healing of periodontal tissue, according to new research published in Head & Face Medicine (March 5, 2012, Vol. 8:6). This resulted in thicker margins around the tooth and, in more than half the cases, complete coverage of exposed roots resulted.
Researchers from Germany and Switzerland extracted collagen from bovine pericardium and used it to form a support for mending receding gums and exposed roots. The collagen was extracted by a process involving osmotic, oxidative, and alkaline treatment. This ensured that the cell walls were broken down, proteins and fats dissolved, and bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens were inactivated and removed, the researchers noted in a press release.
The study followed 14 otherwise healthy patients with more than 60 recessions between them. Their damaged teeth were cleaned before surgery, and the collagen implants were held in place with loops of surgical thread around the affected tooth. Two weeks later the sutures were removed. None of the patients needed antibiotics.
The patients were reexamined after six months to see how well they had recovered. In every case the healed-over implant improved the look and severity of the recession, and in more than half of the treatments produced total coverage of the exposed root, according to the study authors.
The collagen appears to act as a scaffold for the body's own cells to repair the damage leading to results on a level comparable to that of connective tissue grafts, they noted. Bovine collagen is a possible solution for patients with little available donor tissue or for whom multiple surgeries are not an option, they concluded.
