Animal models for testing biomaterials in periodontal regeneration

Abstract

Periodontitis is a prevalent oral disease. It can cause tooth loss and has a significant impact on patients' quality of life. While existing treatments can only slow the progression of periodontitis, they are unable to achieve complete regeneration and functional reconstruction of periodontal tissues. As a result, regenerative therapies based on biomaterials have become a focal point of research in the field of periodontology. Despite numerous studies reporting the superiority of new materials in periodontal regeneration, limited progress has been made in translating these findings into clinical practice. This may be due to the lack of appropriate animal models to simulate the tissue defects caused by human periodontitis. This review aims to provide an overview of established animal models for periodontal regeneration, examine their advantages and limitations, and outline the steps for model construction. The objective is to determine the most relevant animal models for periodontal regeneration based on the hypothesis and expected outcomes.

Keywords: animal model; biomaterials; periodontitis; tissue regeneration.

Figure 1.. Flowchart of the literature search process.

Figure 2.. Schematic diagram depicting the surgically created 1-, 2-, and 3-wall intrabony defects.

Figure 3.. Schematic drawing representing measurement points for histometric parameters. AC: alveolar crest; aJE: apical extension of the junctional epithelium; bN: base of the reference notch; BR: bone regeneration; CEJ: cemento-enamel junction; cNB: coronal extension of newly formed bone; cNC: coronal extension of newly formed cementum; CR: cementum regeneration; CT: connective tissue attachment; DH: defect height; JE: junctional epithelial attachment.