The effects of porous Resorbable Calcium Carbonate on the Regeneration of the Alveolar Bone in the Periodontally Involved Extraction Sockets in Dogs

Periodontal disease in a major reason for a tooth loss after the age of thirty, and the ultimate goal of periodontal therapy is to regenerate the periodontal tissues lost due to periodontal disease. Various bone graft materials including autografts, allografts and synthetic bone substitutes have been used for the treatment of alveolar bone defects. Among those, porous calcium carbonate, which is extracted from natural corals, is known to be biocompatible and promote new bone formation. The present study investigate the effects of calcium carbonate grafts in healthy and periodontitis-affected extraction sockets. The test group includes right premolars of adult dogs, where experimental chronic periodontitis was induced by placing elastic ligatures for 8 weeks. Left premolars were left healthy as controls. Premolars on both sides were extracted with minimum trauma, and calcium carbonate was grafted in the extraction sockets the animals were sacrificed 2, 8 and 12 weeks after healing, and the specimens were histologically analyzed. The results were as follows: 1. Infiltration of inflammatory cells in the connective tissue coronal to the alveolar crest was observed at 2 weeks, but not at 8 and 12 weeks. 2. No infiltration of inflammatory cells adjacent to the graft material was observed in either groups. 3. New bone formation was initially observed at 2 weeks in the lateral and basal sites of extraction sockets in either groups, and all but the alveolar crest portion was filled with new bone at 8 and 12 weeks. 4. The graft material was observed at 2 and 8 weeks but not at 12 weeks. These results suggest that porous calcium carbonate may be a inert and biocompatible graft material that can promote new bone formation, and may be used as a graft material to regenerate alveolar bone in extraction sockets and periodontal osseous defects.prohibitio