Effect of vitamin C on bone formation in the expanded inter-premaxillary suture. Early bone changes

Abstract

The aim of this experimental study was to histomorphometrically evaluate the effects of vitaminC administration on bone formation in response to expansion of the rat inter-premaxillary suture. A total of 30 50- to 60-day old Wistar male rats were divided into three groups of equal number. The inter-premaxillary suture in each animal was expanded with a 0.49N force applied to the upper incisors. At 24h after appliance placement, control animals received saline solution (groupI) and two groups were given a single dose of vitaminC using two different methods [locally into the suture (groupII) and systemically via intramuscular injection (groupIII)]. The area of new bone (µm(2)), the perimeter around the new bone (µm), Feret's diameter (µm), and the percentage of new bone to non-ossified tissue (%) were measured and compared. Kruskal-Wallis and Tukey tests were used for statistical evaluation at the p<0.05 level. We observed significant differences among the groups in all histomorphometric parameters. New bone area, bone perimeter, Feret's diameter, and percentage of new bone dimensions were significantly higher in groupIII than the others (p<0.001). Histomorphometric measurements of bone architecture revealed that this improved in the group administered with vitaminC systemically, while local injection revealed significantly less bone growth than the control group. The systemic administration of vitaminC during the early stages of inter-premaxillary suture expansion may stimulate bone growth. However, local injection of this antioxidant into an orthopedically-expanded suture area has negative effects on bone formation.