The Ovariectomized Rat as a Model for Studying Alveolar Bone Loss in Postmenopausal Women

Table 1

Summary of studies investigating changes in mandibular health in rats less than 12 weeks after ovariectomy.

Rat strain	Sample size per group	Age at OVX (wks)	Time after OVX (wks)	Diet	Technology	Main findings for mandible, compared to sham control	Reference
Sprague-Dawley		4	4	0.89% Ca	Radiographs	(i) No change in BMD; (ii) No alveolar bone loss	[41]
Sprague-Dawley		13	5	1.00% Ca	DXA, histomorphometry stereology	(i) No change in BMD, bone area fraction, or area moment of inertia	[42]
Fischer		17	9	Unknown	Histomorphometry	(i) 25% decrease in BV/TV; (ii) 17% decrease in Tb.N; (iii) 32% increase in Tb.Sp; (iv) No change in Tb.Th	[38]
Sprague-Dawley		26	9	Unknown	-CT	(i) 7% increase in the tissue mineral density distribution grey values at the 5th percentile; (ii) 25% increase in the tissue mineral density distribution coefficient of variation	[40]
Wistar		17	9	Unknown	DXA	(i) No change in BMD	[43]
Wistar		25	9	1.17% Ca,; 0.91% P	-CT	(i) 15% decrease in BV/TV; (ii) 14% decrease in Tb.Th; (iii) 22% increase in Tb.Sp; (iv) No change in Tb.N	[39]

BMD, bone mineral density; BV/TV, bone volume; Tb.N, trabecular number; Tb.Sp, trabecular separation; Tb.Th, trabecular thickness; DXA, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; -CT, microcomputed tomography.