The effect of residual calcium in decalcified freeze-dried bone allograft in a critical-sized defect in the Rattus norvegicus calvarium.

Demineralized freeze-dried bone allograft (DFDBA), a widely used graft material in periodontal regenerative procedures, is processed with hydrochloric acid in the attempt to expose proteins located within the bone matrixes that are capable of inducing new bone formation. However, the degree of DFDBA demineralization varies between tissue banks, which may have an effect on clinical regeneration. This study uses the critical-sized defect (CSD) model to evaluate the wound-healing response to the residual calcium of donor bone. If the percentage of residual calcium in a graft were demonstrated to significantly enhance wound healing, then periodontal patients may benefit from further standardization of human-allograft processing. Sixty adult, male, Harlan Sprague-Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus) were randomly and equally divided into 4 test groups (ie, DFDBA at 1%, 2%, and 3% to 6% residual calcium levels and FDBA at 23% residual calcium) and a control group (no allograft). An 8-mm-diameter craniotomy was made in the rat calvarium, and polytetrafluoroethylene membranes with pore sizes of 0.50 microm were placed intracranially and ectocranially. Treatment materials were carefully placed into the CSD with a new sterilized dental amalgam carrier. Tetracycline hydrochloride was injected intraperitoneally for labeling new bone growth, and animals were euthanized 12 weeks postsurgery. As a result, histomorphometric bone fill at 12 weeks showed a statistically significant increase in the 2% DFDBA group as compared to all other groups. The authors conclude that a 2% residual calcium level in human DFDBA appears to significantly (P < or = .05) enhance osseous wound healing in the rat calvarium.