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. 2018 Sep;22(7):2669-2673.
doi: 10.1007/s00784-018-2536-5. Epub 2018 Jun 29.

Evaluation of an ex vivo porcine model to investigate the effect of low abrasive airpolishing

Gregor Petersilka  1   2 , Ralph Heckel  3 , Raphael Koch  4 , Benjamin Ehmke  5 , Nicole Arweiler  6
Affiliations

Evaluation of an ex vivo porcine model to investigate the effect of low abrasive airpolishing

Gregor Petersilka et al. Clin Oral Investig. 2018 Sep.

Abstract

Objectives: Evaluation of an ex vivo porcine model to investigate the influence of periodontal instrumentation on soft tissue.

Material and methods: In each of 120 pig mandibles, one molar tooth was chosen at random and instrumented. For subgingival debridement, two different low abrasive airpolishing powders (glycine d90 = 25 μm, erythritol d90 = 14 μm, n = 30 teeth each), curets, and a piezoelectric ultrasonic scaler were used (n = 30 teeth each). Thirty teeth in 30 other mandibles served as the untreated control. Gingival biopsies were histologically assessed for destruction using a four-graded scale.

Results: The porcine model was deemed suitable for the planned investigation. Hand instrumentation and ultrasonic scaling caused higher tissue damage than both low abrasive airpolishing modes (Fisher's exact test, p = 0.0025). Glycine powder led to less, yet non-statistical noticeable gingival changes compared to erythritol-based powder (Fisher's exact test, p = 0.39).

Conclusion: An animal model using pig jaws may be used as a preliminary model to analyze histological effects of periodontal instrumentation in advance of studies performed in human tissues. Among the techniques assessed, low abrasive airpolishing (LAA) caused the smallest tissue damage.

Clinical relevance: To avoid gingival damage using LAA, histological observations of gingival tissue are needed. Since numerous powders for LAA have been developed and it may be expected that additional products will follow, it appears to be useful to establish ex vivo animal models to prove the powders safety.

Keywords: Erythritol; Glycine; Low abrasive airpolishing; Periodontal instrumentation; Porcine model.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

Gregor Petersilka declares that he has no conflict of interest. Ralph Heckel declares that he has no conflict of interest. Raphael Koch declares that he has no conflict of interest. Benjamin Ehmke declares that he has no conflict of interest. Nicole Arweiler declares that she has no conflict of interest. Nicole Arweiler and Gregor Petersilka have been lecturing and receiving speakers’ fees on a freelance basis for EMS in continuing education courses and Gregor Petersilka also for consultancies.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with humans or live animals performed by any of the authors. The veterinary ethics committee of the district council of Lower Franconia stated that a permission to use pig mandibles was not necessary since they are considered as non-edible offal.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Pig jaw after specimen retrieval
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Stacked bar diagram showing the distribution of tissue damage scores within the assessed groups
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
a–d Histological specimen showing tissue damage grade (HE staining, 50 fold magnification). a Specimen of area treated with glycine powder (group A) indicating slight damage of the superficial epithelial area (damage degree 1). b Specimen of area treated with erythritol powder (group B) indicating a slight damage of the superficial epithelial area (damage degree 1). c Specimen of area treated with piezoelectric ultrasonic scaler (group C) indicating partial removal of the epithelium and damage to the basal membrane (damage degree 2). d Specimen of area treated with Gracey Curet (group D) indicating exposed connective tissue (damage degree 3). e Untreated specimen
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