Oral tissue response to ovine grafting biomaterial: Morphological and morphometric study using scanning electron and light microscopy tissue response to ovine grafting biomaterial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the oral tissue response to an experimental particle ovine biomaterial by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty‐eight rats had surgical periodontal defects treated with either blood clotting (control), bovine biomaterial? (B), or an experimental ovine biomaterial (O). Data from SEM analysis (defect exposure, root surface exposure, diameter of matrix fibers and bundles, and globuli areas; n = 5) were applied to Shapiro–Wilk, Kruskal–Wallis, and Dunn's test, whereas LM analysis (tissue cicatrization characteristics and diameter defect; n = 3) had data applied to two‐way analysis of variance. Animals were monitored for 1 and 3 weeks. RESULTS: By SEM, the O samples showed significant differences from B and C in the area of defect exposure (H_2,15 = 8.66; P < 0.05). In both periods, O and B samples showed similar results for matrix fiber diameters, differently than C samples (H_2,15 = 14.0; P < 0.05). All other SEM variables were considered equivalent among the groups (P > 0.05). Under LM, an acute and chronic granulomatous inflammation was seen in the presence of both biomaterials (B and O, 1 week); both the control and the ovine grafting samples showed mature bone in the repair site (3 weeks); the defect diameter showed similar values among groups, at both monitoring periods (F_2,12 = 1.0401; P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The ovine particles of this study showed a favorable response to oral tissue repair, demonstrating to be a potential source for the development of bone grafting biomaterials. Microsc. Res. Tech. 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.