The effects of mechanical strain on osteoblasts in vitro.

The effect of mechanical strain on bone is important to the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are involved on a daily basis with problems including alveolar ridge resorption, implant stability, craniofacial growth, and bone resorption related to trauma and pathology. To understand and control these effects on bone, it is important to examine the effects of mechanical strain on the osteoblasts. This series of experiments provides the changes in alkaline phosphatase, collagen synthesis, and protein synthesis in osteoblast-like cell subjected to mechanical strain.