Use of Dental Pulp Stem Cells/Collagen Sponge Biocomplex in the Treatment of Non-Contained Intrabony Defects: A Case Series

Introduction: Because of their accessibility and biologic features, dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) hold great promise for regeneration in clinical applications. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no data are available concerning their regenerative potential in human periodontal intrabony defects. The present case series explores the clinical and radiographic ef- fectiveness of autologous DPSCs/collagen sponge biocomplex in the treatment of non-contained intrabony defects in patients with chronic periodontitis. Case Series: Four healthy patients displaying at least one prevalently 1- or 2-wall intrabony defect and one vital third molar requiring extraction were consecutively included in the study. Before surgery, patients were enrolled in a strict peri- odontal program including oral hygiene instructions and scaling and root planing. The third molar was extracted and used as the autologous DPSC source. The dental pulp was mechanically dissociated and filtered through 50-mm pores to obtain a cellular suspension enriched in stem cells. The selected intrabony defects, one per patient, were filled with the cellular suspension endorsed onto a collagen sponge. The mean probing depth decreased from 8.0 – 0.8 mm at baseline to 3.3 – 1.0 mm at the 12-month evaluation. The mean clinical attachment level amounted to 11.0 – 0.8 mm before the sur- gery and to 6.0 – 1.4 mm at 12 months. At the end of the observational period, the mean radiographic defect fill was 4.2 – 1.9 mm. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this case series, it can be concluded that autologous DPSCs may represent a very promising tool for the treatment of angular bone defects with unfavorable architecture.