Background: The single flap approach (SFA) is a minimally invasive procedure designed for periodontal reconstructive procedures of intraosseous periodontal defects characterized by a dominant unilateral, buccal or oral, extension. This study evaluates the adjunctive effect of guided tissue regeneration (GTR) combined with a hydroxyapatite (HA) biomaterial in the management of intraosseous periodontal defects accessed with SFA compared to SFA alone.Methods: Twenty‐four intraosseous defects (in 24 patients) were randomly allocated to treatment with SFA or SFA + HA/GTR. Clinical outcomes were assessed 6 months post‐surgery.Results: Five sites in the SFA + HA/GTR group showed incomplete closure at week 2, which resolved spontaneously. There were no statistically significant or clinically meaningful differences in mean (±SD) clinical attachment gain (4.7 ± 2.5 versus 4.4 ± 1.5 mm), probing depth reduction (5.3 ± 2.4 versus 5.3 ± 1.5 mm), and gingival recession increase (0.4 ± 1.4 versus 0.8 ± 0.8 mm) between the SFA + HA/GTR and SFA groups.Conclusions: SFA with and without HA/GTR seems to be a valuable minimally invasive approach in the treatment of deep intraosseous periodontal defects. Under the present experimental conditions, the additional HA/GTR protocol offers no significant adjunctive effect.

Aim: To comparatively evaluate the morbidity following maxillary sinus floor elevation according to either transcrestal (tSFE) or lateral (lSFE) approach with concomitant implant placement.Materials & Methods: Patients with ≥1 edentulous maxillary posterior site with residual bone height (RBH) of 3–6 mm were enrolled. tSFE was performed in association with a xenograft and a collagen matrix. For lSFE, the sinus was grafted with the xenograft, and the antrostomy was covered with a membrane. Implants were inserted concomitantly. The postoperative course was assessed through questionnaires. Pain level (VAS_pain) was recorded using a 100‐mm visual analogue scale.Results: Twenty‐nine and 28 patients were included in tSFE and lSFE group, respectively. On the day of surgery, VAS_pain was significantly higher for tSFE compared to lSFE, and similar from day 1 to 14. tSFE was characterized by significantly lower incidence of swelling, bruising and nasal discharge/bleeding. Significantly less severe limitation in swallowing, continuing daily activities, eating, speaking, opening the mouth and going to school/work was found for tSFE only at specific postsurgery intervals.Conclusions: lSFE was associated with lower pain on the day of surgery, and tSFE revealed lower postoperative morbidity as well as more tolerable postoperative course.