Injectable hydrogel-loaded nano-hydroxyapatite that improves bone regeneration and alveolar ridge promotion.

ABSTRACT

In stomatology, the promotion of alveolar bone regeneration while preventing the reduction of ridge absorption remains a challenge. In this work, we designed and prepared bio-mimetic polysaccharide hydrogels that are multi-functional in terms of being injectable, promote self-healing, degradable, porous structure, et al. After introducing nano-hydroxyapatite particles, the composite scaffold of hydrogel/hydroxyapatite (GH) stent was obtained. When GH material was injected into the mandibular incisors of rats following tooth extraction, the new bone area was enhanced more than 50%, while the alveolar ridge was promoted in excess of 60% after 4 weeks. What's more, the wound soft tissue was healed within 1 week. Overall, our results indicate that this optimized GH stent has the potential to both maintain dimensional alveolar ridge, as well as to promote soft tissue healing. Moreover, using the hydroxyapatite-containing hydrogel platform has the potential to promote bone and soft tissue regeneration.