January 2023

Introduction: Mineralized bovine bone grafts have been widely used as substitutes for bone losses in dental clinics. Studies have shown that exposing the organic components of the bone matrix at surgical sites accelerates bone deposition. Objective: The present study evaluated the bone repair progress of an intraoral bone defect in rats after grafting with mineralized (MBB) and demineralized bovine bone (DBB). Materials and Methods: An intraoral bone defect was created after extraction of the right maxillary first molar, drilling the area of the alveoli of the four distal roots using a diamond tip. The defect was filled with the MBB or DBB graft. Grafting effects were evaluated after 1, 7, 14, 21 and 49 days, using radiographic and histological data. Results: After 14 days, all groups showed full mucosa epithelialization at the surgical site. Radiographic data showed an improvement in bone deposition in defects grafted with the organic matrix. This data was confirmed by the histological analysis. A higher level of bone maturation of the neoformed trabeculae and a faster reabsorption rate were also observed to be a feature of the DBB graft. Conclusion: The present in vivo data revealed that the DBB graft may represent an alternative to mineralized biomaterials.