Bone apposition and surface treatment in dental implants: histomorphometric pilot evaluation in rabbits

Resumo

The surface of dental implants is an important factor
for osseointegration process and different methods of surface treatment
have been described. Objective: To investigate the bone apposition
in implant surface treated with sandblasting and acid-etching.
Material and methods: Ten rabbits were selected and received
one implant treated with method I in the left tibia and one implant
treated with method II in the right tibia. Then, twenty implants
were divided in two groups, according to methods of sandblasting
and acid-etching (method I and method II). After 7, 14, 30, 45
and 60 days, tibias were retrieved and submitted to histotechnical
procedures. The percentages of bone–implant contact (BIC) and
bone area between threads (BABT) were determined throughout histomorphometric analysis and bone apposition was detected in
implants of both groups. Results: In BABT measurements, an increase
was observed after 45 and 60 days in the method II, compared to
method I and no differences were found after 7, 14 and 30 days. In
BIC measurements, an increase was detected with method II at 45
days when compared to method I. No differences between groups in
BIC values were observed after 7, 14, 30 and 60 days. Conclusion:
Our data demonstrated that implants treated with the method II
presented increase in the contact between bone and implant after
45 days compared to method I. Moreover, with concern to bone area
between threads, it was observed an increased in the method II after
45 and 60 days. However, both groups can be successfully used as
a therapeutic strategy to rehabilitation of edentulous patients. Then,
further experiments are needed to evaluate, in depth, the putative
differential role of each surface treatment.