Effects of simvastatin gel on bone regeneration in alveolar defects in miniature pigs.

BACKGROUND Currently, the most commonly used treatment methods for repairing alveolar furcation defects are periodontal guided tissue regeneration (GTR) and bone grafting. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of simvastatin/methylcellulose gel on bone regeneration in alveolar defects in miniature pigs. METHODS Alveolar defects were produced in 32 teeth (the third and fourth premolars) of 4 miniature pigs. The 32 experimental teeth were divided into 5 groups comprising control (C) and treatment (T) teeth: (1) empty defects without gel (group C0, n = 4); (2) defects injected with methylcellulose gel (group C1, n = 4); (3) defects injected with 0.5 mg/50 µl simvastatin/methylcellulose gel (group T1, n = 8); (4) defects injected with 1.5 mg/50 µl simvastatin/methylcellulose gel (group T2, n = 8); and (5) defects injected with 2.2 mg/50 µl simvastatin/methylcellulose gel (group T3, n = 8). Every week after surgery, the furcation sites were injected once with gel. At the eighth week after surgery, the 4 pigs were sacrificed and underwent macroscopic observation, descriptive histologic examination, and regenerate bone quantitative histologic examination. RESULTS At 8 weeks after surgery, the defect sites in the treatment groups were completely filled in with new bone and fibrous tissue. There was little new bone in the C0 and C1 groups, and only a small number of osteoblasts and proliferative vessels could be seen on microscopic examination. CONCLUSIONS Miniature pigs are an ideal experimental animal for establishing a model of alveolar defects using a surgical method. Local application of simvastatin/methylcellulose gel can stimulate the regeneration of alveolar bone in furcation defect sites, because it promotes the proliferation of osteoblasts. The best dose of simvastatin gel to stimulate bone regeneration is 0.5 mg.