RESEARCH ARTICLE
Experimental Animal Models in Periodontology: A Review
Xavier Struillou1, Hervé Boutigny1, Assem Soueidan1, Pierre Layrolle2, 3, *
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2010Volume: 4
First Page: 37
Last Page: 47
Publisher ID: TODENTJ-4-37
DOI: 10.2174/1874210601004010037
Article History:
Received Date: 10/12/2009Revision Received Date: 19/1/2010
Acceptance Date: 3/2/2010
Electronic publication date: 29/4/2010
Collection year: 2010

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
In periodontal research, animal studies are complementary to in vitro experiments prior to testing new treatments. Animal models should make possible the validation of hypotheses and prove the safety and efficacy of new regenerating approaches using biomaterials, growth factors or stem cells. A review of the literature was carried out by using electronic databases (PubMed, ISI Web of Science). Numerous animal models in different species such as rats, hamsters, rabbits, ferrets, canines and primates have been used for modeling human periodontal diseases and treatments. However, both the anatomy and physiopathology of animals are different from those of humans, making difficult the evaluation of new therapies. Experimental models have been developed in order to reproduce major periodontal diseases (gingivitis, periodontitis), their pathogenesis and to investigate new surgical techniques. The aim of this review is to define the most pertinent animal models for periodontal research depending on the hypothesis and expected results.