Clinical and radiographic comparison of platelet rich fibrin combined with bovine derived xenograft versus bovine derived xenograft alone in the treatment of periodontal intrabony defects

The aim of the present study was to compare the clinical and radiographic effects of platelet rich fibrin (PRF) combined with bovine derived xenograft (BDX) to the use of BDX alone in the treatment of periodontal intrabony defects of advanced chronic periodontitis patients. Twenty advanced chronic periodontitis patients with a mean age of 45.60 ± 10.01 were enrolled in the present study. A total of 92 periodontal intrabony defects with an associated probing depth (PD) of ≥ 5 mm and an intrabony component of ≥ 3 mm were treated with either PRF + BDX or BDX alone. At baseline and 12 months after surgery, plaque and sulcus bleeding indices, PD, marginal soft tissue level, relative attachment level, relative bone level together with radiographic bone level were recorded. Uneventful healing was observed in all cases. At 12 months, both treatment groups revealed significant clinical and radiographic improvements when compared to baseline (p < 0.01). Regarding the deepest site of the defects, following changes in clinical and radiographic parameters were observed at 12 months after surgery for PRF + BDX and BDX groups respectively; a mean PD reduction of 3.35 ± 1.25 (3) mm and 3.0 ± 1.41 (3) mm, attachment gain of 3.02 ± 1.26 (3) mm and 2.15 ± 1.35 (2) mm, gingival recession of 0.33 ± 0.52 (0) mm and 0.79 ± 0.56 (1) mm, clinical bone gain of 2.74 ± 1 (3) mm and 2.10 ± 1.2 (2) mm and radiographic bone gain of 2.63 ± 0.98 (3) mm and 2.24 ± 1.03 (2) mm. Intergroup analysis demonstrated significant attachment gain, gingival recession, clinical bone gain (p < 0.01) and radiographic bone gain (p < 0.05) in favor of the PRF + BDX group. Results obtained in this study revealed that the use of both PRF + BDX combination and BDX alone yields significant improvements in clinical and radiographic parameters compared to baseline and the use of PRF + BDX combination yields better results in regards to attachment gain, clinical and radiographic bone gains.