HISTOLOGICAL STUDY OF REPARATIVE CAPACITY OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES ON AGE RELATED CHANGES OF ALVEOLAR BONE, CEMENTUM AND PERIODONTAL LIGAMENT IN RATS

Background: Nanotechnology is a rapidly growing scope in recent research, it has a widely acceptable range of potential implications in humans, particularly for dentistry. Among various metallic nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are considered the most animated and charming nanoparticles that are involved in multiple biomedical applications. Aim: The goal of the current study was to determine the possible biological reparative influences of silver nanoparticles on age changes of the alveolar bone, cementum and periodontal ligaments of rats Material and methods: Forty five male albino rats (fifteen adults aging six months and thirty old aging eighteen months) were divided equally into three groups. Group I (adult age) that get infused with saline intravenously to serve as control group, group II (old age) which also get infused with saline intravenously and group III (old age received an oral dose of silver nanoparticles 100 mg/kg) once daily for 4 weeks. Results: Old age group revealed sever histological alterations as thinning of bone trabeculae and widening of bone marrow cavities. Marked hypercementosis with multiple signs of degeneration in cementum, periodontal ligaments (PDL) and alveolar bone were evident, while old group received silver nanoparticles revealed a considerable improvement of histological features of the tissues under investigation which became nearly similar to that of control group. DEXA examination revealed statistical significant difference in the alveolar bone mineral density between different groups. Conclusion: Oral administration of silver nanoparticles considerably ameliorated most of histological features of alveolar bone, cementum and periodontal ligaments of old rats. Bone mineral density of old rats was improved by silver nanoparticles.