Twelve young BNL mice received a “gingivectomy” excising the gingival papilla mesial to the left maxillary first molar. Twelve additional young mice served as uninjured controls. One hour prior to sacrifice, each animal received a subcutaneous injection of 1 μCi H3‐TDR per gm body weight. Animals were sacrificed 2, 4, 6, and 8 days after injury. At time of sacrifice, maxillae, femora, and a portion of abdominal skin were obtained from each animal for histologic and autoradiographic analysis.
In most tissues analyzed, the gingivectomy led to a significant reduction in labeling indices at tissue sites distant from the gingivectomy. This effect was short‐lived, however, and could not be noted at time periods later than two days post‐injury. Since such distal effects are of short duration, it is questionable whether they would affect therapeutic sequences currently used in periodontal treatment.