[The use of subepithelial connective tissue as a biological barrier].

Bone regeneration may be enhanced when invasion of soft tissue into osseous defect is mechanically impeded by barrier membrane. Several studies have reported successful clinical outcomes for regenerative treatment of intrabony and furcation defects following use of free subepithelial connective tissue graft (SCTG) as biological barrier membrane. The current study introduces the use of SCTG as a barrier in following clinical situations: (1) Guided bone regeneration (GBR) of peri-implant bone lost due to early spontaneous exposure of submerged implants (2) Socket preservation combined with ridge augmentation (3) Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) of periodontal circumferential intrabony defect. Each of the above indication is presented to the reader by description in details of clinical cases in which SCTG was applied.