Histological evaluation of the effects of bioglass, hydroxyapatite, or demineralized freeze-dried bone, grafted alone or as composites, on the healing of tibial defects in rabbits.

Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of bioactive glass (BG), natural hydroxyapatite (HA), and demineralized freeze-dried bone (DFDB) in bone defects.

Methods: All animal experiments were conducted in Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey, under the Selcuk University Guidelines for Animal Experimentation, in 2005. Eighteen New Zealand rabbits were used for the experiment. Four cavities were prepared on right and left tibias. The cavities on the right tibia were filled with either BG, HA or DFDB. One cavity was left empty as a control. The cavities on the other tibial bone were grafted with HA(+)BG, HA(+)DFDB, BG(+)DFDB and HA(+)BG(+)DFDB composites. Histological examinations were performed at first, third, and sixth postoperative months.

Results: According to histomorphometric findings, the mixture containing HA(+)BG(+)DFDB obtained the best histological results (p<0.05).

Conclusion: The composite graft of HA, BG and DFDB is more effective than when used as individual agents.