Subgingival Curettage Versus Surgical Elimination of Periodontal Pockets

B O N E I N D U C T I O N B Y D E C A L C I F I E D D E N T I N E I M P L A N T E D I N T O O R A L , O S S E O U S A N D M U S C L E T I S S U E S Yeomans, J. D . and Urist, M . R. Arch. Oral Biol. 12:999-1008, 1967 The object of this experiment was to determine the bone in- duction effect of implanting decalcified cortical bone, decalcified dentine, tendon and muscle into three receptor sites of young adult New Zealand rabbits: a) a pouch in the rectus abdominus muscle, b) a drill-hole bone defect in the mandible, and c) an empty tooth socket. With the implants of dentine and bone, a consistently reproducible induction system was set up for osteo- genesis which was not found with the tendon and muscle im- plants. The new bone developed from the interaction of hyper- trophied mesenchymal cells with extracellular substances in the matrix of dentine and bone. A film of cement substance gener- ally separated the old and new bone. University of California, Los Angeles, California. T H E E F F E C T O F S E X H O R M O N E S O N I N F L A M M A T I O N . II. P R O G E S T O G E N , O E S T R O G E N , A N D C H O R I O N I C G O N A D O T R O P I N Lindhe, J. and Sonesson, B. J. Perio. Res. 2:7-12, 1967 A comparative study of the effect of the sex hormones pro- gestogen, oestrogen, and chorionic gonadotropin on acute con- nective tissue inflammation induced by croton oil was conducted using a modified granuloma pouch technique on 88 female Wistar rats. If any of the sex hormones used was deposited immediately prior to the croton oil, a noticeably less extensive inflammation occurred. It was concluded that the sex hormones act as antiphlogistic substances on the acute inflammatory proc- ess induced by the croton oil. This information cannot be ap- plied clinically, but can serve as a theoretical basis for further study. Departments of Anatomy and Periodontology, School of Dentistry, University of Lund, Lund, Sweden. E N Z Y M E T R E A T M E N T O F T R A U M A T I C S W E L L I N G I N O R A L A N D M A X I L L O F A C I A L S U R G E R Y Wigand, F . and Messer, E . Clinical Medicine 74:29-32, July 1967 The anti-inflammatory effectiveness of crystalline chymostryp- sin, a proteolytic enzyme, in reducing traumatic edema following surgery was tested clinically on 56 patients (18 females and 38 males) ranging from nine to 59 years of age: 22 received ex* traction, cystectomy, apicoectomy or miscellaneous other oral surgical procedures, and had accidental maxillofacial trauma usually involving fractures. Each patient was given one or two tablets (20 mg. per tablet) of crystalline chymotrypsin, four times a day, started immediately after surgery or upon arrival and continued to a usual total dosage of 24 tablets. A compari- son of actual degree of swelling with the normally expected de- gree of swelling was made and a first day score of two points was assigned as the normally expected degree of swelling in all routine surgical cases, based on previous experience. Against these scores were recorded the actual scores observed on the first five days, graded as 0 = none, through 4 = excessive. By com- paring the first day actual score against the first day "guess" score, the traumatic swelling after 24 hours was about one- third of that normally expected. These patients recovered more rapidly and the need for analgesic drugs after the first 24 hours appeared less than usually required in these cases. U. S. Naval Hospital, Great Lakes, Illinois. T H E A D S O R P T I O N O F S A L I V A R Y P R O T E I N S B Y H Y D R O X Y A P A T I T E A N D E N A M E L Hay, D . I. Arch. Oral Biol. 12:937-946, 1967 Studies of the adsorption of salivary proteins from whole saliva on to hydroxyapatite and enamel powder revealed highly selective adsorption of a few of the salivary proteins. The ad- sorption behavior of the proteins was followed electrophoreti- cally. Protein was also recovered and studied from freshly extracted teeth to compare with the in vitro results. The carbo- hydrate components of the adsorbed proteins were analyzed by hydrolysis with N H C L for two hours at 100°C. To ascertain the effect of mucin as a component of the pellicle, the apatite: saliva ratio was analyzed with 10 ml. of saliva to 50,200 and 350 mg. of apatite. The supernatants were analyzed for sialic acid using Warren's method. The results showed the adsorbed proteins to contain glucose, galactose, mannose, fucose, glu- cosamine and galactosamine. Proteins from extracted teeth and the proteins adsorbed on to hydroxyapatite and powdered enamel have the same electrophoretic mobility. It seems prob- able that these proteins are identical. Sialoprotein was not found to be selectively adsorbed implying that mucin, if involved in pellicle formation, has been changed perhaps by bacterial activ- ity or may not be involved in early pellicle formation. Forsyth Dental Center, Boston, Massachusetts.