A novel in vivo platform for studying alveolar bone regeneration in rat

Alveolar bone regeneration is a significant challenge in dental implantation. Novel biomaterials and tissue-engineered constructs are under extensive development and awaiting in vivo animal tests to find clinical endpoint. Here, we establish a novel in vivo model, modifying gingivoperiosteoplasty in rat for the alveolar bone regeneration. Rat premaxillary bone defects were filled with silk scaffold or remained empty during the implantation period (up to 6 weeks), and harvested samples were analyzed by micro-computed tomography and histopathology. Empty defects showed increased but limited new bone formation with increasing implantation period. In defects implanted with silk sponge, the bone formation was significantly greater than that of empty defect, indicating an effective role of silk scaffold in the defect model. The modified premaxillary defect model in rat is simple to perform, while mimicking the clinical conditions, finding usefulness for the development of biomaterials and tissue-engineered constructs targeting alveolar bone regeneration in dental implantation.