Translating the Science of Periodontal Regeneration Into Clinical Practice.

Abstract

In May 2014, the American Academy of Periodontology, under the leadership of Drs. Pamela McClain and William Giannobile, convened aWorkshop on Enhancing Periodontal Health Through Regenerative Approaches. As with all prior workshops in periodontology, the goals were to review all current evidence about a specific topic in a systematic review and to incorporate the knowledge of experts to summarize the evidence and discussions in a consensus report on each topic. Those valuable systematic reviews and consensus reports on five specific clinical scenarios for which one might consider periodontal regenerative therapy have been published as a supplement to the Journal of Periodontology. From the initial planning by the Workshop organizing committee, there was a commitment to translate the findings to practical clinical use. The current special issue of Clinical Advances in Periodontics includes five “practical application” papers devoted to translating the Workshop outcomes to practical use. Each practical applications paper starts by describing a specific situation that clinicians often confront. The paper then describes, by means of a decision tree, the different approaches thatmaybe considered in managing the clinical situation and how an expert in the field makes a treatment decision that is informed by the evidence. Because Clinical Advances in Periodontics is a dynamic online journal, images and videos are included to allow all readers to clearly understand the characteristics of the clinical scenario, how it was managed, and the expected outcomes. The evidence shows that periodontal regeneration works well and predictably in certain clinical situations. The ultimate goal of the AAP RegenerationWorkshop and publications was to broaden the clinical application of tissue regeneration advances to help improve periodontal disease management and retention of the natural dentition. We hope you will find this special issue on clinical translation of the AAP Regeneration Workshop to be of great practical value. n