Author(s)

Fatemeh Ezoddini-Ardakani, Alireza Navab Azam, Soghra Yassaei, Farhad Fatehi, Gholamreza Rouhi

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Objectives: Bone defects following tumor resection and osteolysis due to dental and bone lesions and periodentium tissue disorders are serious challenges. One of these materials used is chitosan, a derivative of crustaceans’ exoskeleton. The aim of this study was to assess effects of chitosan on socket repair after dental extraction. Methods: Twenty four dental sockets of 15-24 years old patients were visited by a maxillofacial surgeon for extracting premolar teeth for orthodontic purposes. The sockets in one side were filled-in by chitosan. In the other side, the sockets were left unfilled. After 10 weeks, periapical radiographs were obtained from the repair sites, were digitalized and then evaluated for densitometry using Adobe Photoshop Software. Each socket was divided into coronal, middle and apical. Dental density of each socket in case and control groups was recorded. The density of regenerated bone was compared against the maximum bone density of each individual. Wilcoxon signed range test and paired t-test were used for data analysis. Results: Bone density in middle and apical sections in case group was significantly more than control group. In apical section in case group regenerated bone reached up to 98.2% of normal bone density. In each patient, the bone density in epical and middle sections was increase 29.3% and 10.8% of normal bone density. Conclusions: Chitosan significantly increased bone density in epical and middle sections. Chitosan can be used for bone repair in cases of bone loss. Various densitometry studies for evaluating chitosan effects in different bone defects are suggested.

Chitosan; Bone Regeneration/Drug Effects; Biocompatible Materials/Administration & Dosage

Ezoddini-Ardakani, F. , Navab Azam, A. , Yassaei, S. , Fatehi, F. and Rouhi, G. (2011) Effects of chitosan on dental bone repair. Health, 3, 200-205. doi: 10.4236/health.2011.34036.