Evaluation of Periodontal Ligament Cell Viability in Three Different Storage Media: An in Vitro Study

Objectives: this study was undertaken to evaluate the viability of periodontal ligament (pdl) cells of avulsed teeth in three different storage media. materials and methods: forty-five premolars extracted for orthodontic therapeutic purposes were randomly and equally divided into three groups based on storage media used [group i: milk (control); group ii: aloe vera (experimental); group iii: egg white (experimental)]. following extractions, the teeth were placed in one of the three differ-ent storage media for 30 minutes, following which the scrapings of the pdl from these teeth were collected in falcon tubes containing collagenase enzyme in 2.5 ml of phos-phate buffered saline. the tubes were subsequently incubated for 30 minutes and cen-trifuged for five minutes at 800 rpm. the obtained pdl cells were stained with trypan blue and were observed under optical microscope. the percentage of viable cells was calculated. results: aloe vera showed the highest percentage of viable cells (114.3±8.0), followed by egg white (100.9±6.3) and milk (101.1±7.3). conclusion: within the limitations of this study, it appears that aloe vera maintains pdl cell viability better than egg white or milk.