Immunohistochemical Analysis of Alveolar Bone Preserved with Autologous Teeth Graft. Osteopontin Expression and its Regulatory Functions in Preserved Alveolar Ridge

Moreno-Villagrana Ana Patricia; Gutiérrez-Valdés Dulce Haydeé & Flores-Luna María Guadalupe

Summary

The present study investigated the healing response of 12 fresh post-extraction alveolous grafted with particulate autologous teeth to achieve preservation of the post-extraction alveolar ridge. The objective is to elucidate the osteoconductive and osteoinductive properties of the autologous dental graft used as a bone substitute in the alveolar ridge preservation technique. Five patients were included, with at least one hopeless tooth and in need of extraction and preservation of the ridge, to receive in the same place a dental implant in prosthetic replacement. In the first surgical stage, dental extractions and preservation of the alveolar ridge were performed, using the teeth extracted and processed with an automatic system as bone substitutes. In the second surgical stage, an incisional bone biopsy was performed in each grafted site, the bone beds were recapitulated in a drilling protocol that allowed the placement of the dental implant, and the harvested bone specimens were prepared for analysis. The histological results of the bone biopsies in all cases showed remnant particles of the dental graft, made up of dentin, partially resorbed, with irregular superficial edges and in close contact with newly formed bone in transition to mature lamellar bone, in which well differentiated osteocytes were observed. The immunohistochemical results showed a moderate positive expression of osteopontin at the edges of the integrated teeth particles, inside the peritubular dentin space and at the osteodental contact interfaces. In conclusion, the evidence from the study shows that the autologous dental graft is a biocompatible bone substitute, that provides an osteoconductive scaffold that promotes bone cell adhesion and migration for local osteogenesis and that it is associated with moderate in situ expression of osteopontin, which showed a high affinity with mineralized dental tissue, suggesting osteoinductive properties in situ.

KEY WORDS: teeth graft, tooth graft, alveolar bone grafting, alveolar ridge preservation, osteopontin.

How to cite this article

MORENO-VILLAGRANA A. P.; GUTIÉRREZ-VALDÉS, D. H. & FLORES-LUNA, M. G. Immunohistochemical analysis of alveolar bone preserved with autologous teeth graft. Osteopontin expression and its regulatory functions in preserved alveolar ridge. Int. J. Odontostomat., 15(3):616-625, 2021.