The main goal of periodontal therapy is the regeneration of periodontal tissue which has been lost due to destructive periodontal diseases.

Although conventional forms of periodontal therapy show sound clinical results, the healing results in long junctional epithelium. There have been numerous materials and surgical techniques developed for new attachment and bone regeneration. Bone grafts can be catagorized into; autografts, allografts, xenografts and bone substitutes. Synthetic bone substitute materials include hydroxyapatite, tricalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, and Plaster of Paris.

Calcium sulfate has found its use in dental practice for the last 30 years. Recent animal studies suggest that periodontal regeneration in 3 wall intrabony defect may be enhanced by the presence of calcium sulfate. And it is well known that 2 wall & 1 wall defect have less osteogenic potential, So we need to study the effect of calcium sulfate in 1 wall intrabony defect in dogs.

The present study evaluates the effects of calcium sulfate on the epithelial migration, alveolar bone regeneration and cementum formation in intrabony defects of dogs. Four millimeter-deep one-wall intrabony defects were surgically created in the mesial aspect of anterior teeth and mesial & distal aspects of premolars. The test group received calcium sulfate grafts with a flap procedure. The control underwent flap procedure only. Histologic analysis following 8 weeks of healing revealed the following results:

The lengths of junctional epithelium were; 2.52mm in the control, and 1.89mm in the test group. There was no statistical significance between the two groups.

Alveolar bone formation were; 0.61mm in the control, and 1.88mm in the test group. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (p<0.05).

Cementum formations were; 1.1mm in the control, and 2.46mm in the test group. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (p<0.05).

The length of CT adhesion were; 0.97mm in the control, and 0.17mm in the test group. There was no statistically significant differences between the two groups

These results suggest that the use of calcium sulfate in intrabony defects has little effect on junctional epithelium migration, but has significant effects on new bone and new cementum formations.