Patent ID: 7217691

Claim:
A method for treating peridontal disease in a patient in need of same comprising administering a pharmaceutical composition comprising an effective amount of a BMP-2 protein in a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle, wherein the BMP-2 protein is encoded by a nucleic acid that hybridizes under stringent hybridization conditions (hybridization at 65° C. in 6× SSC, 0.01M EDTA, 5× Denhardt's solution, 0.5% SDS, 100 μg/ml denatured salmon sperm DNA, labelled DNA probe; washing at 65° C. in 0.2× SSC, 0.1×SDS) to the complement of SEQ ID NO:1 or SEQ ID NO:3, wherein the encoded BMP protein has the ability to induce formation of cartilage or bone or both.