Four-day Perio Workshop 2018 on bone regeneration is under way

Seventy-five experts have gathered for a four-day meeting in which the topic of bone regeneration and the regenerative technologies used in dentistry is under the spotlight.

Perio Workshop 2018,  organised by the EFP in partnership with the Osteology Foundation, is taking place at La Granja de San Ildefonso in Spain from November 11 to 14.

The workshop’s three main objectives are: (1) to describe the biology of bone regeneration and the regenerative technologies used in bone-regenerative interventions in the oral cavity; (2) to evaluate the evidence on the efficacy of interventions aimed at treating extraction sockets; (3) to evaluate the evidence on the efficacy of interventions aimed at regenerating alveolar-ridge defects.

Sponsored by Geistlich Pharma, Perio Workshop 2018 is chaired by Mariano Sanz (EFP, chair Workshop committee) and Christer Dahlin (Osteology Foundation) and participants are organised into four working groups.

Working group 1, co-chaired by Tord Berglundh (EFP) and William Giannoble (Osteology Foundation), covers the biological factors involved in alveolar bone regeneration. This group is considering papers on:

• Mesenchymal cells and biologic factors leading to bone formation;
• The critical interplay among bone-resorbing cells and formative cells;
• The role of osteo-immunology in the formation and maintenance of alveolar bone;
• Self-regenerative capacity following bone injury or tooth extraction. 

Working group 2, whose co-chairs are Prof Sanz and Prof Dalhin, explores biomaterials and regenerative technologies and is considering papers on:

• Bone replacement grafts: what is the ideal biomaterial?
• Barrier membranes: more than the barrier effect?
• The use of biological agents in bone regeneration;
• The use of cell therapies in bone regeneration.

Working group 3, co-chaired by Maurizio Tonetti (EFP) and Ronald Jung (Osteology Foundation), tackles treatment of the extraction sockets. The group is focusing on four systematic reviews covering the effectiveness of:

• Ridge-preservation interventions following tooth extraction;
• Immediate implant interventions;
• Early implant interventions;
• Lateral bone-augmentation interventions in conjunction with implant placement.

Working group 4, whose co-chairs are Søren Jepsen (EFP) and Frank Schwarz (Osteology Foundation), considers the regeneration of alveolar-ridge defects, looking at four systematic reviews that cover the effectiveness of:

• Lateral bone augmentation staged with implant placement;
• Vertical bone-augmentation interventions;
• Bone regeneration in peri-implantitis lesions;
• Sinus-lifting interventions.

The workshop’s consensus papers and working documents will later be published in a special open-access supplement of the EFP’s Journal of Clinical Periodontology.