Tissue Engineering in Maxillary Bone Defects

BACKGROUND: Restoration of craniofacial bone defects has been a concern for oral and maxillofacial surgeons. In this study, the healing effect of fibrin glue scaffold was compared with autologous bone graft in mandibular defects of rabbit. METHODS: Bilateral unicortical osteotomy was performed in the diastema region of 10 male Dutch rabbits. The subjects were randomly divided into 2 equal groups. The mandibular defect on the right side was treated with fibrin glue scaffold and the defect on the left side with autologous bone graft provided from iliac crest. After 4 and 8 weeks, five rabbits from each group were sacrificed and the defects were evaluated morphologically, by coronal computed tomography scanning (CT-scan) and by histological examinations. RESULTS: The healing effect of fibrin glue scaffold and autologous bone graft was similar with appropriate osteogenesis in comparison to the control group. CONCLUSION: Using fibrin glue can be a non-invasive treatment of choice in mandibular defects and maxillofacial surgeries when compared with autologous bone graft.