Extraction wound healing in desalivated rats.

Wound licking has been shown to promote extraoral wound healing among animals. Although the oral mucosa is bathed in saliva. Little information about the role of saliva in oral wound healing is found. The present study evaluates the healing of extraction wounds in desalivated rats. Experimental rats underwent sialadenectomy of the submandibular and sublingual glands and ligation of the parotid ducts. Maxillary left first molars were extracted. Rats were killed at 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, and 21 days after surgery and maxillae were prepared for light microscopy examination. Generally, a delay in socket healing in the desalivated rats was found. No differences were observed in blood clot formation. Replacement of the clot by granulation tissue was relatively slow concomitant with a longer inflammatory process. Bone formation kinetics were slower among the experimental rats.