Fine structure of new connective tissue attachment following acid treatment of experimental furcation pockets in dogs

Periodontal furcation pockets were created in mandibular premolar teeth of three beagles and subsequently treated by reconstructive procedures including flap surgery, root planing and application of citric acid. Block biopsies removed after 1, 2, 3 and 6 weeks showed new attachment of connective tissue to the periodontally involved root surface. This was established by progressive interdigitation of new collagen fibrils and the acid‐exposed fibrils of the dentin matrix along the root planed surface as well as within the orifice of dentinal tubules. The results supplement those of a previous study (Ririe, Crigger & Selvig 1980) and show that attachment of soft connective tissue to a root planed and acid‐conditioned dentin surface can be achieved by the same mechanism irrespective of whether the root surface has been surgically denuded or has been exposed to the environment of an experimental periodontal pocket.