Wound models for periodontal and bone regeneration: the role of biologic research

Abstract The ultimate goals of periodontal therapy remain the complete regeneration of those periodontal tissues lost to the destructive inflammatory‐immune response, or to trauma, with tissues that possess the same structure and function, and the re‐establishment of a sustainable health‐promoting biofilm from one characterized by dysbiosis. This volume of Periodontology 2000 discusses the multiple facets of a transition from therapeutic empiricism during the late 1960s, toward regenerative therapies, which is founded on a clearer understanding of the biophysiology of normal structure and function. This introductory article provides an overview on the requirements of appropriate in vitro laboratory models (e.g. cell culture), of preclinical (i.e. animal) models and of human studies for periodontal wound and bone repair. Laboratory studies may provide valuable fundamental insights into basic mechanisms involved in wound repair and regeneration but also suffer from a unidimensional and simplistic approach that does not account for the complexities of the in vivo situation, in which multiple cell types and interactions all contribute to definitive outcomes. Therefore, such laboratory studies require validatory research, employing preclinical models specifically designed to demonstrate proof‐of‐concept efficacy, preliminary safety and adaptation to human disease scenarios. Small animal models provide the most economic and logistically feasible preliminary approaches but...
Source: Periodontology 2000 - Category: Dentistry Authors: Tags: Original Article Source Type: research