Effect of S53P4 bioactive glass and low-level laser therapy on calvarial bone repair in rats submitted to zoledronic acid therapy

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of bioactive glass and photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) in calvarial bone repair process in rats submitted to zoledronic acid therapy.

Methods: Twenty-four rats were selected and treated with the dose of 0.035 mg/kg of zoledronic acid every two weeks, totalizing eight weeks, to induce osteonecrosis. After the drug therapy, surgical procedure was performed to create 5-mm diameter parietal bone defects in the calvarial region. The rats were then randomly assigned to groups according to the following treatments: AZC: control group, treated with blood clot; AZBIO: bone defect filled with bioactive glass; AZL: treated with blood clot and submitted to PBMT; and AZBIOL: treated with bioactive glass S53P4 and submitted to PBMT. Tissue samples were collected and submitted to histomorphometric analysis after 14 and 28 days.