Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the validity of the hypothesis that Ozone gel will accelerate bone healing in a critical size defect model experimentally created in rabbit calvaria when mixed with autografts in comparison to autogenous grafts per se.
Materials and Methods: A total of twelve adult male New Zealand Rabbits were included in the study. A total of 24 standardized bone grafts were harvested from 12 animals after critical size defects were created in calvaria cortical bone, each graft was crushed using a special bone mill device. After bone milling, each bone graft was collected in a special sterile container, twelve grafts were mixed with normal saline solution (control group) and each one of the rest of the grafts was mixed with ozone gel. Animals were sacrificed at 4 and 8 weeks' post-surgery, dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans were performed for the skull of the rabbits and bone specimens were collected for histological examination.
Results: Histomorphometric analysis showed superior results in favor of the ozone treated group represented as a significantly higher percentage of normal osteocytes and marked increase in area percentage of new bone formation. Additionally, DEXA scan revealed a significant increase in bone mineral density and bone mineral concentration of the ozone treated group compared to the control group.
Conclusion: The authors believe that according to the available results the use of ozone gel may be cost effective and convenient owing to its ease of preparation. It is recommended to be used with routine bone grafting procedures as it accelerates the new bone formation over time giving higher degree of overall maturation and strength.