CONTRIBUTION. In an international competition, researchers at the Institute of Odontology have received the first Large Clinical Grant, awarded by the Osteology Foundation in Switzerland. Headed by Tord Berglundh, researchers at six European research centers will collaborate to evaluate the significance of using bone replacement material in patients operated on for bone defects caused by peri-implantitis.
Periodontitis (gum disease) is a bacterially induced inflammation of the supporting structures of the teeth and is among the most common diseases known to humankind. The comparable condition occurring in tissues surrounding dental implants is called peri-implantitis.
Just as with teeth, inflammation in periimplant tissues can lead to breakdown of the supporting bone and if the inflammation is left untreated, it can cause implant loss. In cases with extensive peri-implantitis, the inflamed tissues surrounding the implant are surgically removed. Sometimes, some form of bone replacement material is used during surgery, to restore the lost bony support.
“As we have been able to show in several studies, peri-implantitis treatment has developed and works well, today. Additionally, we have researched the safety of bone replacement material for 25 years, both experimentally and clinically. But, the degree of improvement the material provides the patient, in connection to surgical treatment, is not clear. Our randomized, controlled study design will provide this answer,” says Tord Berglundh.
Randomized and controlled
In the clinical study, 140 patients with peri-implantitis will be randomly assigned to either surgical treatment, where the bone replacement material Bio-Oss Collagen is used, or surgical treatment, where the healing process is allowed to occur without bone replacement material. The clinical study, led by Gothenburg, will run for five years. The study includes patients from six different clinical centers in Sweden, Italy, France and Spain.
“Most of the participating researchers have received their academic training with us, at Gothenburg and have continued close collaboration with the Institute, following their research training,” explains Tord Berglundh.
The research on periodontitis and peri-implantitis at Gothenburg is strongly translational and spans from the cellular level, through experimental research to clinical studies. Tord Berglundh’s group is now in the final phase of analyzing the results of an experimental study, conducted at EBM, designed to examine the use of different bone replacement materials in the treatment of peri-implantitis. The results from the analyzes of histological material and x-rays, using both conventional and computer tomography technology, will facilitate the work with the data from the clinical study that is to start in the next few months.
Strong international competition
In the clinical study, the treatment outcome will be evaluated by clinical methods and x-rays.
“We are collaborating with our colleagues in radiology to be able to make adequate analyzes of the images. Interpreting x-ray images of bone defects with bone replacement material is extremely challenging,” says Tord Berglundh.
The Osteology Foundation is an organization, headquartered in Switzerland, that aims to bridge the gap between scientific progress and clinical practice in the field of bone regeneration. The organization provides funding to a few selected research projects each year, and now, for the first time, is awarding a Large Clinical Grant, of SEK 2.7 million, to a selected project. There was strong international competition for the funding from the Osteology Foundation; twenty major research groups, from around the world, originally applied and seven of these were chosen to submit a fully prepared application.
