The role of topical simvastatin on bone regeneration: A systematic review

OBJECTIVES The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the results concerning the use of simvastatin for promoting bone regeneration and to discuss the level of scientific evidence supporting such findings. MATERIAL AND METHODS A Pubmed search using "Simvastatin"[Mesh] AND "Bone Regeneration"[Mesh] as Boolean operators was constrained to the last 10 years and only included papers written in English. RESULTS Of the 41 relevant papers reviewed, most of them (76.2%) have been published in the last 5 years, and most of them address animal studies (66.6%) performed on rats or rabbits in extraoral regions. Only 4 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessed the role of topical simvastatin in periodontal patients. CONCLUSIONS A large part of the evidence concerning the role of topical simvastatin on bone regeneration comes from animal studies (mainly rats) focusing on extraoral bone defects. Only the use of subgingival simvastatin after root scaling has been properly supported by RCT. Key words:Simvastatin, bone regeneration, topical administration, osteogenesis, osteoinduction.