Investigation of the effect of local and systemic preoperative dexamethasone application on bone tissue healing in mandibular bone defects

Corticosteroids are steroid hormones that are naturally secreted in the body. Laboratory-synthesized analogues of these hormones are used in many medical treatments. Depending on the procedure to be performed, high doses and long-term use cause important side effects such as osteoporosis, bone fractures and osteonecrosis. In oral surgery practice, low-dose, short-term use, generally without maintenance treatment is preferred. In addition, systemic and local effective methods can be applied depending on the treatment situation. Prior to the surgery, the effect of locally and systemically delivered single-dose corticosteroid injections on bone tissue was histopathologically examined in this study. A total of 84 Wistar Albino rats were used in the study. Rats were divided into two groups as local and systemic injection groups as control and experiment. Before the procedure, the experimental group received a single dosage of dexamethasone while the control group received a single dose of saline. A defect was created in the mandible bone of the rats. Rats were sacrificed on the 3rd, 7th and 40th days. The mandible bones of the sacrificed rats were removed and bone tissue healing was examined histopathologically. As a result of the evaluations, in the histopathological examination of the tissue sections of the subjects who were sacrificed after 40 days, no significant difference was observed in terms of fibroblastic tissue increase, new bone construction and necrosis formation. However, fibroblastic connective tissue increase and the number of osteoblasts were less in the tissue sections of the experimental groups that were sacrificed after 7 days. In the groups that received local and systemic dexamethasone injection, samples with an increase in the necrotic area were detected on the 40th day. As a result, it can be said that single-dose corticosteroid applications cause a delay in bone healing in the early period. In addition, it should be considered that locally applied corticosteroids may cause necrosis in the area of bone damage.