Histomorphometric Evaluation of Non-Thermal Plasma-Treated Xenogenic Bone Graft for Enhanced Bone Regeneration in a Rabbit Calvarial Defect Model: Part I

When placing dental implants, xenografts are most commonly used clinically to compensate for insufficient bone volume of patients. However, xenografts have limitations including low osteoinductive capacity and prolonged healing time. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of non-thermal plasma-treated bovine cancellous bone graft on new bone formation, graft resorption, bone marrow formation, and vascularization in a rabbit calvarial defect model. Twenty-four adult male New Zealand white rabbits received bilateral 8-mm critical-size calvarial defects. One defect was filled with untreated SANTA-OSS® (control) and the contralateral defect with plasma-treated SANTA-OSS using the ACTILINK™ Reborn device. Animals were sacrificed at 2, 4, and 8 weeks (n=8 per group) for histomorphometric analysis. The plasma-treated group showed significantly higher new bone area (14.12 ± 0.69%, 18.93 ± 0.68%, and 32.72 ± 0.61% at 2, 4, and 8 weeks) than the control at all time points (p < 0.05). In addition, the experimental group exhibited accelerated graft resorption, larger bone marrow area, greater blood vessel area, and more TRAP-positive osteoclasts compared with the control (p < 0.05). Within the limitations of this study, plasma treatment significantly enhanced new bone formation, accelerated graft resorption, promoted bone marrow development, and increased vascularization.