Establishment of an Improved Implantation Technique for Hamster Mucous Membrane Irritation Testing

Biological evaluation procedures for the acceptance of new dental materials include testing for mucous membrane irritation and inflammation, with the hamster cheek pouch used as a model system. Previous reports have indicated both a low 14-day implant retention rate and poor differentiation between positive and negative controls, requiring the establishment of a new standard procedure for hamster cheek pouch implantations. Groups of 10 female golden Syrian hamsters were implanted with uniform discs (6 mm in diameter and 1 mm thick) of white base-plate gutta percha (GP), gray welding-rod polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), or test alloys, under Nembutal anesthesia. Each animal's right cheek pouch was everted and cleaned, and the implant was loosely placed at the bottom of the pouch. The pouch was closed by a double-suture technique. Contralateral (left) cheek pouches served as controls for the physical state of each animal. A collar (cable tie) was placed tightly around the animal's neck at a level between the sutures and the implant. Cheek pouches were assessed after 14 days. Implants were kept in contact with oral mucosa longer using the double-suture-plus-collar technique than in hamsters without collars (14-day retention rates of 48.0% and 6.7%, respectively). Average severity indices (ASI) of 5.4 and 1.7 were obtained for PVC and GP, respectively, as compared with 1.6 for contralateral control pouches. LDPE was not a suitable negative control material (ASI = 2.6). Positive and negative controls were clearly delineated when PVC and GP were the control materials.