Several follow up visits are necessary and the patient must comply with a rigorous maintenance program especially during the initial phases of healing. Finally, and most important of all, the patient must have meticulous plaque control. Although plaque control is important for any type of periodontal therapy, it is critical to the success of a regenerative procedure. Another important point in terms of the success of regenerative procedures is the selection of the defect where the procedure will be applied. The following list identifies factors in the selection process that can strengthen procedure outcomes.
Bone grafts require a source of blood supply which is the alveolar bone lining the defect.
The more bony walls that are in contact with the graft material the better the chances for a successful procedure. The graft material will have an adequate supply of blood and the bony walls will retain the graft material in place. Conversely, the more root surface that is in contact with the graft material, the poorer the prognosis of the case because blood supply is limited. Narrow defects are better than wide defects. On the contrary, in a very wide defect the graft material tends to spread or get washed away.