Evaluation of the effectiveness of systemic and local vitamin D administration in maxillary sinus lift procedures: An animal study

This experimental study aimed to evaluate the effects of locally and systemically administered vitamin D on bone formation in maxillary sinus augmentation procedures. A total of 18 adult New Zealand rabbits were used in the study. Bilateral sinus elevation was performed in each rabbit, the sites were grafted with a xenograft material, and covered with a collagen membrane. The subjects were divided into three groups: control, local vitamin D, and systemic vitamin D. In the local vitamin D group, the graft material was mixed with 0.2 µg/kg active vitamin D (calcitriol) during the procedure, whereas the systemic vitamin D group received 0.2 µg/kg calcitriol systemically. The control group underwent the standard sinus augmentation procedure. All animals were sacrificed at the 10th week, and the obtained specimens were analyzed histomorphometrically and molecularly. In addition, blood samples collected preoperatively and at postoperative weeks 1, 5, and 10 were evaluated biochemically. Histomorphometric analysis revealed a statistically significant difference among the groups in terms of osteoblastic activity (<0.01) and new bone formation (p<0.05). Molecular analyses also demonstrated a statistically significant difference in VEGF and BMP-2 expression levels among the groups (p<0.001). The local vitamin D group showed significantly higher BMP-2 and VEGF levels compared to the other groups, followed by the systemic vitamin D and control groups. These results indicate that local vitamin D administration may serve as a biological agent with the potential to enhance bone regeneration, and they provide valuable insights that may guide future experimental and clinical studies investigating its use in various bone healing and grafting procedures. KEYWORDS: Bone regeneration, BMP-2, xenogreft, VEGF,Vitamin D