Evaluation of bone maturation following application of treated tooth bio-graft in bone defects: Experimental animal study.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the present study was to evaluate bone maturation in a standardized bone defect model after the application of a treated tooth graft (TTG) formed from demineralized dentin loaded with statin.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

In this study, 30 adult male rabbits (weight 2 kg to 2.5 kg) were used, and they were divided equally into two groups: control and TTG groups. In each rabbit, two standardized round bone defects were created (one in each tibia), where the defects were left without grafting in the control group and were packed with TTG slices in the study group. TTG is formed of demineralized dentin matrix slices loaded with statin. The fifteen rabbits in each group were separated into three subgroups based on postoperative evaluation intervals (2, 4, and 6 weeks). The animals were euthanized at 2, 4 and 6 weeks postoperatively, and half of the bone specimens were processed for histological examination using Masson's trichrome special stain, while the other half was prepared for analysis using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX).

RESULTS

The histomorphometry analysis results showed a significantly greater mean of red-staining bone matrix area for the TTG group, suggesting that the new bone matrix was more mature. Enhanced collagen maturation appeared histologically coupled with an increase in mineral contents, as indicated by SEM-EDX results, where the concentrations of Ca and P increased significantly with time in TTG group (P ≤ 0.05).

CONCLUSION

TTG group consistently showed higher levels of Ca and P and lower C/(Ca+P) ratios compared to the Control group. TTG was able to fasten the maturation of bone formation during bone defect healing.