The rat palatine fissure is anatomically similar to human alveolar cleft. In this study, we examined potential bone repair by an autologous bone implant and beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) using rat palatine fissure as a model. Autologous bone chips or β-TCP granules were implanted into the rat palatine fissure. Our model demonstrated that higher bone volume and bone mineral density were achieved with autologous bone graft than with β-TCP. We have provided the first demonstration of the suitability of the rat palatine fissure as the implant site to simulate the transplantation of bone graft materials into human alveolar cleft.
Keywords: bone graft materials; bone regeneration; congenital bone defect; human alveolar cleft; rat palatine fissure.