Biomechanical Analysis of Osseointegration of IMZ Implants in Goat Mandibles and Maxillae

This study was designed to determine the effect of time on the biomechanical integration of cylindrical dental implants in the mandible and maxilla. A total of 136 IMZ dental implants was placed bilaterally in the endentulous maxillae and mandibles of 17 goats. Pullout tests were used to assess biomechanical integration at intervals from 2 to 24 weeks. This study indicated that there is a time-dependent, progressive increase in pullout force to 24 weeks. The forces were consistently higher for the mandible than the maxilla. Moreover, there was no correlation between the intraoperative stability of the implant and the postoperative pullout force. Keywords: biomechanics, dental implants, goats, mandible, maxilla