Unanswered Questions: Can Bone Lost from Furcations Be Regenerated?

Periodontal regeneration-treatment that results in new alveolar bone, cementum, and a functional periodontal ligament-is successful in class II furcation defects. This article examines one aspect of periodontal regeneration-alveolar bone growth in furcation defects-in trying to answer the question, Can bone lost from furcations be regenerated? The best evidence for bone growth is histology but there is limited histologic evidence for bone growth in human furcation defects. There is more evidence from intraoperative measurements for hard tissue growth in treated furcation defects, but the nature of the hard tissue needs to be determined histologically.