Certain cell populations within periodontal tissues possess the ability to induce regeneration, provided they have the opportunity to populate the wound or defect. Guided regeneration techniques have been investigated for regenerating periodontal tissues and such therapies usually utilize barrier membranes. Various natural and synthetic barrier membranes have been fabricated and tested to prevent epithelial and connective tissue cells from invading while allowing periodontal cells to selectively migrate into the defect. This paper focuses on the literature relevant to the use and potential of resorbable collagen membranes in GBR procedures, sites of periodontal and intrabony defects, in cases of socket and alveolar ridge preservation and at implant sites. The results of their use in GBR procedures has shown them to be effective and comparable with non-resorbable membranes with regards to clinical attachment gain, probing depth reduction and defect bone filling. They have also shown to prevent epithelial ingrowth into the defect space during the initial wound healing phase postsurgically. Collagen membranes have also been used for root coverage and GBR procedures and have shown good success rates comparable to subepithelial connective tissue grafts and expanded-polytetrafluoroethylene (e-PTFE) membranes. The future for periodontal tissue engineering is very exciting with the use of barrier membranes expected to continue playing a critical role. However, long-term clinical trials are required to further evaluate and confirm the efficacy of the available collagen barrier membranes for periodontal and bone regeneration use.
Keywords: Barrier membranes; Collagen; GBR; GTR; Periodontal regeneration.