title: Effects of boric acid on experimental periodontitis and alveolar bone loss in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal of the present study was to evaluate the histopathologic and morphometric effects of systemic boric acid in a rat periodontitis model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-four Wistar rats were divided into three groups of eight animals each: non-ligated (NL), ligature only (LO), and ligature and treated with boric acid (BA) (3mg/kg per day for 11 days). A 4/0 silk suture was placed in a subgingival position around the mandibular first molars; after 11 days the rats were sacrificed, and changes in alveolar bone levels were measured clinically and tissues were histopathologically examined to assess the differences amongst the study groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ratio of presence of inflammatory cell infiltration (ICI) and osteoclast number in the LO group was significantly higher than that of the NL and BA groups (p<0.05). The ratio of presence of osteoblastic activity in the LO group was significantly lower than that of the NL and BA groups (p<0.05). Alveolar bone loss was also significantly higher in the LO group compared to the BA and NL groups (p<005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study has demonstrated that systemic administration of boric acid reduced periodontal inflammation and alveolar bone loss in periodontal disease in rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Turkey.
authors.forename: Serhat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Demirer
authors.forename: M Isa
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Kara
authors.forename: Kamile
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Erciyas
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ozdemir
authors.forename: Hatice
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ozer
authors.forename: Sinan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ay
mesh_terms: D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001888:Boric Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D008297:Male; D010010:Osteoclasts / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D001888:Boric Acids; C032688:boric acid