ABSTRACT
Currently, in oral and maxillofacial surgery, there is a clinical need for efficient bone grafting materials, and various efforts are being made to improve materials used as bone substitutes to facilitate faster and denser bone regeneration. The purpose of this study was to evaluate in vivo the osteogenic potential of synthetic ß-tricalcium phosphate in a hydroxyl sulphate matrix (ß-TCP/HS) and human demineralized bone matrix (DBM) putty. Sixteen New Zealand White rabbits were used. In each animal, two bone defects (8 mm length × 3 mm width × 3 mm depth) were created in the left and right regions of the mandible, respectively. The defect on one side, chosen randomly, was filled with ß-TCP/HS (group A) or DBM putty (group B), while the defect on the opposite side was left unfilled in order to serve as a control site. Two animals in each group were sacrificed at the end of the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 6th week after surgery, respectively, and the osteotomy sites were processed for histological evaluation. Our findings confirmed that ß-TCP/HS and human DBM putty possess osteogenic activity and can support new bone formation, although at a slower rate than the spontaneous healing response, in rabbit mandibular osseous defects.
