AirPerio | A New Program To Treat Periodontal Gum Disease

BOST TREATMENT OVERVIEW

Steps in the BOST treatment

Q. What is BOST used for?
A. BOST gives general dentists a way to successfully and predictably heal moderate to severe cases of periodontal disease without invasive surgery.
Q. What does BOST stand for?
A. BOST stands for “Bone One Session Treatment.” Unlike other non-surgical treatments currently available, BOST focuses on the healing of the bone as the main goal of the treatment. “One Session” denotes the fact that BOST aims to complete the treatment in a single session. Research has indicated that there are numerous advantages to concentrating the treatment into a single session.
Q. How is BOST different than other periodontal treatments?
A. The BOST treatment gains access to the pockets and bone surface without invasive surgery. This allows the damaged bone to heal naturally and avoids unstable epithelial attachment. BOST uses a three-step technique to stretch the gum tissue open enough to allow access all the way to the bone level. This allows regenerative healing with new connective tissue attachment and cortical bone. Regenerative healing is led by stem cells, allowing the bone to heal and fill the pockets with healthy tissue and solid non-epithelial connective tissue.
Q. How was BOST created?
A. BOST is the result of over 15 years of progressive research with contributions from orthopedic surgeons, immunologists, implantologists, and lifestyle specialists. The BOST treatment has been practiced for 3 years. Before that, there was an earlier version called TRI-Immuno-Phasic therapy that incorporated many of the same elements. The focus on specifically treating bone in addition to roots suggested that a new name was needed.
Q. What research has been performed?
A. A longitudinal study was done on 2,000 cases during a 15 year period ranging from 1987 to 2002. That longitudinal study showed a clinical success that surpassed what could be expected from normal non-surgical treatment. The treatment also saved more teeth than was expected from traditional surgical treatment. A study was done on 150 teeth that had been treatment planned for immediate extraction by other dentists. Those 150 teeth were treated with an earlier version of BOST and, after 6 years, 89% of the 150 teeth were still functioning normally with evidence of bone healing, reduced mobility and lower pocket depth.

In 2002, there was an opportunity to do research on why that particular technique was proving to be more successful. In France, a case was treated at the University of Nice Postgraduate Implantology Section. The study site in this case had a 9mm pocket with a deep infrabony lesion. After treatment, the patient was followed up at 9 months and a biopsy was taken of the new attachment that had reduced the pocket to 2mm. The crestal bone that had regenerated to fill the crater was verified during the biopsy. A follow up X-ray confirmed the bone regeneration. From the result of this research the decision was made to coin the name BOST for the first publication to differentiate from other non surgical treatments.

Articles detailing the treatment were published in France following the research. Later, articles were published in England. The articles are available on the website. One of the goals of AirPerio is to further the research on BOST, providing a better understanding of the treatment from a clinical research point of view.
Q. Is the treatment widely available?
A. After the research was published, some dentists were interested in learning the technique. In the past 3 years several dentists have been trained in the BOST technique. Those dentists have found that BOST has had a big impact on their practices. Currently, there are dentists practicing BOST in France, England, Belgium, Russia, and the US.
Q. Do you use a microscope to look at plaque samples?
A. No. BOST employs a bacterial DNA test that reveals the exact composition of the bacteria that are present. The primary drawback of using a microscope is that it is not possible to differentiate between different types of bacteria.
Q. What instruments are used?
A. A standard series of curettes are used for root preparation and bone plasty. No laser or ultrasonic is necessary with BOST.
Q. What is the connection between AirPerio and BOST?
A. AirPerio is the collective site for people that practice BOST. It used to support them in explaining the treatment to their patients.
Q. Why don't periodontists practice BOST?
A. Periodontists are already trained in a competing method of treatment. While we believe that BOST is an effective alternative to surgical periodontal treatment, research has not been extensive enough for Periodontists to switch over their practices. However, one of the primary benefits of BOST continues to be the fact that general dentists now have the ability to treat patients that they were not able to treat before BOST was created.
Q. Where is BOST headed in the future?
A. Our goal is to spread BOST so that patients have easy access to the treatment. Dentists interested in learning the treatment can refer to the practitioners page of this site for more details. We also aim to solidify research on BOST to gain a deeper understanding of the treatment’s success and applicability.