The present study was designed to evaluate the suitability of a novel bioabsorbable material in guided bone regeneration. Experimental bone defects were created bilaterally in the mandibular angles of 20 New Zealand White rabbits. A poly (desamino ethyl-ester-carbonate) (PDTE carbonate) membrane was used to cover the defects. On one side the defects were additionally filled with bioactive glass 13-93 mesh. The healing of the defects was evaluated by radiological examination and histological sections. PDTE carbonate membrane and bioactive glass mesh were implanted into dorsal subcutaneous pouches in rabbits. Soft tissue reactions caused by the biomaterials were evaluated by means of histology and immunohistochemistry. The tensile strength of the membranes was analysed after in vitro degradation. The ossification of the experimental defects was initially faster without filling the defect with bioactive glass mesh. However, toward the end of the follow-up period the difference decreased. In the unfilled 52-week controls no ossification of the defects was detected. Therefore it can be concluded that PDTE carbonate membranes are sufficient to enhance ossification of critical-sized defects in rabbit mandibles. PDTE carbonate membranes elicited a very modest foreign-body reaction in the soft tissues. This reaction was uniform throughout the study. Varying amounts of calcification were seen in the fibrous capsule surrounding the membrane. The exact nature of this phenomenon remained unsolved. Bioactive glass 13-93 coated with chitosan implanted in soft tissues elicited a foreign-body granuloma with eosinophilic granulocytes. By 24 weeks most of the material was absorbed, but whenever there were any particles left the foreign-body reaction was notably milder; yet a mild chronic inflammatory infiltrate was still present. The presence of eosinophilic granulocytes in some of the samples suggests the possibility of an allergic reaction either to bioactive glass 13-93 or to chitosan. Matrix metalloproteinases -3 and -13 are suggested to participate in the host reaction to either bioactive glass or chitosan. The results of the present study encourage further testing of PDTE carbonate membranes in experimental protocols where the use of conventional materials has led to compromised reconstruction.