Sutures in dentistry. Traditional and PTFE materials

: Suture material in PTFE is successfully used in vascular and orthopaedic surgery since many years. More recently it has been applied also in periodontal surgeries, in the guided tissue regeneration technique, thanks to its chemical-physical, mechanical and biological characteristics. The Authors tried to evaluate the indications for the use of this material in different situations in the dental practice. Furthermore a microbiologic study has been carried out, both in vivo and in vitro, and this material has been compared with the twisted coated silk to evaluate the different bacteriological characteristics. In particular it has been demonstrated the reduced adhesion of PTFE in comparison to the twisted silk. This characteristic seemed to be even more relevant after a longer stay of the materials in the oral cavity.