BACKGROUND: Worldwide, periodontitis has the highest prevalence among the oral diseases. New medications are needed to repair the damage brought by periodontitis. Previous studies have been done to investigate agents such as antioxidants and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) in oxidative stress. These studies focused on the role of antioxidants in periodontitis and other related systemic conditions. The aim of this study was to determine if antioxidants in combination with bone graft and PRF can increase the number of osteoblasts for new bone growth.

METHODS: Twenty-seven (27) Wistar rats were randomly allocated into 3 groups. In the first group, the post-extraction tooth socket was filled with blood (control). In the second group, the socket was filled with antioxidants and bone graft. In the third group, the socket was filled with antioxidants, bone graft, and PRF. On day 14, the rats were euthanized and the tissue fixations were stained with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) for histologic examination of the osteoblasts. One-way ANOVA was used as statistical test.

RESULTS: Statistical test showed that there were significant differences in the number of osteoblasts in all the 3 groups (p=0.000).

CONCLUSION: The number of osteoblasts was significantly increased in the post-extraction tooth socket treated with a combination of antioxidants, bone graft, and PRF.