A new transplant bone for maxillary alveolar cleft

An innovative technique with distraction osteogenesis has been developed in our research group to explore autogenous bone transplantation into craniofacial bone defects. This technique was designed to investigate bone-marrow transplantion using a chondroid or fibula bone graft into simulated alveolar bone defects in mice in terms of the osteogenic process and activity. As an experimental model of maxillary alveolar bone cleft available for testing bone-inductive materials, a critical-size defect was formed in the pre-maxillary bone of male mice using a surgical trephine bur with a low-speed dental engine. Distraction osteogenesis was performed using an external fixation device. The osteotomy site was occupied by an external callus consisting of hyaline cartilage with a large quantity of chondroid bone. Moreover, bone remodelling with new bone formation was demonstrated 30 days after the transplantation. Bone adhesion was better in chondroid bone grafting than in fibula bone grafting. The present findings are the first to demonstrate the potential of chondroid bone transplantation as a new therapeutic system of bone grafting, suitable for bone substitutes in craniofacial bone defects.