A Study of the Effects of Emdogain® Gel on Wound Healing of Rat Periapical Lesions

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Emdogain® gel on the wound healing of periapical tissues. Rat experimental periapical lesions were induced by opening the pulp chambers of the mandibular first molars and filing the distal root canals with #25 K-file. Exposed teeth were kept open to the oral environment for 7 days. Then, we irrigated the distal root canals and divided them into two groups. One was the EMD-treated group, and the other was the Propylene glycol alginate-treated group as the positive control, which was a carrier of Emdogain. The rats were sacrificed 7, 14 and 28 days after treatment and prepared for histochemical examination. In the EMD-treatment group, macrophages positive for TGF-β1 or BMP-2 rapidly increased in number at 7 days after treatment, then regeneration of cementum and bone tissues were observed around the root apex at 14 days after the treatment. Conversely, in the PGA-treated group, there were few macrophages positive for TGF-β1 or BMP-2, and recovery of apical periodontal tissues were rarely witnessed within the periapical lesions throughout the experimental period. These results suggest that reparative macrophages may be positive for TGF-β1 or BMP-2, and play an important role in the wound healing of apical periodontal tissue following the application of EMD.