Biological effects of a root conditioning agent for dentin surface modification in vitro

Purpose: Connective tissue reattachment to periodontally damaged root surfaces is one of the most important goals of periodontal therapy. The aim of this study was to develop a root conditioning agent that can demineralize and detoxify the infected root surface. Methods: Dentin slices obtained from human teeth were treated with a novel root planing agent for 2 minutes and then washed with phosphate-buffered saline. Smear layer removal and type I collagen exposure were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and type I collagen immunostaining, respectively. Cell attachment and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) removal demonstrated the efficiency of the root conditioning agent. Results: SEM revealed that the smear layer was entirely removed and the dentinal tubules were opened by the experimental gel. Type I collagen was exposed on the surfaces of the dentin slices treated by the experimental gel, which were compared with dentin treated with other root planing agents. Dentin slices treated with the experimental gel showed the highest number of attached fibroblasts and flattened cell morphology. The agar diffusion assay demonstrated that the experimental gel also has effective antimicrobial activity. Escherichia coli LPS were effectively removed from well plates by the experimental gel. Conclusions: These results demonstrated that this experimental gel is a useful tool for root conditioning of infected root surfaces and can also be applied for detoxification of ailing implant surface threads. ⓒ 2010 Korean Academy of Periodontology.

Assessment of post-traumatic PDL cells viability by a novel collagenase assay

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74820/1/j.1600-9657.2002.00092.x.pd

Experimental Animal Models in Periodontology: A Review

In periodontal research, animal studies are complementary to in vitro experiments prior to testing new treatments. Animal models should make possible the validation of hypotheses and prove the safety and efficacy of new regenerating approaches using biomaterials, growth factors or stem cells. A review of the literature was carried out by using electronic databases (PubMed, ISI Web of Science). Numerous animal models in different species such as rats, hamsters, rabbits, ferrets, canines and primates have been used for modeling human periodontal diseases and treatments. However, both the anatomy and physiopathology of animals are different from those of humans, making difficult the evaluation of new therapies. Experimental models have been developed in order to reproduce major periodontal diseases (gingivitis, periodontitis), their pathogenesis and to investigate new surgical techniques. The aim of this review is to define the most pertinent animal models for periodontal research depending on the hypothesis and expected results