Effect of Honey on Healing Process of Extraction Socket in Rabbits

Background Honey is regarded as the oldest wound dressing. It accelerates wound healing in burn, infected and open wounds. Its effect on wound healing process in extraction socket is not fully established till today. Objective To evaluate the effect of honey on the healing process of socket after tooth extraction in New Zealand White rabbits. Method Extraction of first premolar tooth on both sides of lower jaw in six rabbits was done under general anesthesia produced by ketamine and Xylazine followed by local application of honey on one socket (honey group) and normal saline (control group) in the opposite socket. On 7th day, biopsy was taken from the extraction site and histopathological examination was done. Student's t-test was used for comparison between the groups and the differences were considered to be statistically significant at P-value less than 0.05. Result There was a significant difference between control group and honey group in terms of fibroblast proliferation (p = 0.0019) and bony trabeculae formation (p=0.0003). Inflammatory cells were also observed in both groups and it was statistically not significant (p=1.0000). Overlying epithelium was hyperplastic in the both groups. Conclusion Local application of honey promoted the healing process by increasing fibroblast proliferation and bony trabeculae formation. Further studies in larger animals and human should be conducted to confirm the efficacy of honey in extraction socket healing.