For 30 days, sham ovariectomized (OVX)/NaCl, sham OVX/nicotine, OVX/NaCl, and OVX/nicotine animals were given 2 daily injections of saline or hemisulfate of nicotine. After this period, exodontic procedures were carried out and treatment continued up to the time of euthanasia on days 7 and 14 when the alveoli were removed for further analyses.
The data confirmed that nicotine significantly delays the alveolar regeneration process after dental extraction in rats and showed that the association of nicotine with ovariectomy exacerbates these results.
These results indicate that nicotine potentiated the effect of estrogen deficiency on bone regeneration induced by ovariectomy.