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Management of Furcation Defects

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Advances in Periodontal Surgery

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Abstract

Management of teeth with furcation involvement (FI) is challenging for the clinician. The greater the grade of FI, the more difficult it becomes to treat. Also, the grade of FI affects the prognosis and limits the patient’s ability to maintain. Adequate case selection and analysis of risk factors are fundamental for successful treatment of teeth with FI. In addition, the restorative and endodontic status needs to be considered to avoid future complications. Despite the aforementioned difficulties in the treatment of FI, multiple therapeutic modalities to treat teeth with FI have been utilized over the years in the field of periodontology including resective therapy, open flap debridement (OFD), guided tissue regeneration (GTR), use of biologic agents and plasma concentrates (PCs), endoscope, laser therapy, antimicrobials, and local delivery of statins. Diverse success and survival rates have been reported in the literature with variability among the different techniques.

From the reviewed literature, it can be concluded that treatment of teeth FI can extend the longevity of teeth, even in cases of severe FI, and every effort must be made to retain teeth before electing to extract or possibly place a dental implant. There are novel promising techniques and materials that can be used to successfully treat FI; in spite of that, the regenerative potential needs to be fully elucidated. In addition, further clinical studies with longer follow-up periods are needed in order to design treatment algorithms and clinical guidelines.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Periodontology, Department of Surgical Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA

    Acela A. Martinez Luna

  2. Department of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Fatemeh Gholami

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  1. Acela A. Martinez Luna
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Correspondence to Acela A. Martinez Luna .

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  1. Department of Periodontics, University of Illinois at Chicago, College Dentistry, Chicago, IL, USA

    Salvador Nares

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Martinez Luna, A.A., Gholami, F. (2020). Management of Furcation Defects. In: Nares, S. (eds) Advances in Periodontal Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12310-9_8

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