Polyethylene tubes filled with various dental materials were placed as subcutaneous implants in rats. A scoring system for no, slight, moderate and severe reaction was established on the basis of the tissue response to a variety of materials for the evaluation of long term implants (30 or 90 days). Short term implants (7 or 14 days) were evaluated by deciding whether or not an effect from the material could be found in addition to the operative trauma.
The scoring system was used to evaluate the reactions to three periodontal dressings. Tissue from the short term implantation periods exhibited marked reactions to most implants. Long term implantation revealed that a difference in the tissue response to the three dressings was present, For two of the materials the initial irritation was followed by an innocuous state, but from the third dressing a continuous irritation of the tissue was observed.