Bone Healing at Implants Placed in Sites Prepared Either with a Sonic Device or Drills: A Split-Mouth Histomorphometric Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose: To evaluate histomorphometrically early healing at implants placed in sites prepared with either a sonic device or conventional drills. Materials and Methods: Sixteen volunteer patients were recruited. Two titanium mini-implants were placed in the distal segments of the maxilla in recipient sites prepared with either a sonic device or conventional drills. Biopsy specimens containing the mini-implants were retrieved after 2 weeks in eight patients, and after 6 weeks in the other eight patients. Histomorphometric analyses were performed. Results: Histologic slides were available from seven patients for both 2-week and 6-week periods. After 2 weeks of healing, small amounts of new bone were found in contact with the implant surface, with 5.5% ± 7.3% and 3.8% ± 10.0% at the sonic and drill groups, respectively. After 6 weeks of healing, new bone was 46.9% ± 15.5% at the sonic group, and 46.4% ± 14.9% at the drill group. None of the differences was statistically significant. Conclusion: The percentage of new bone in contact with the implant surface was similar in the sonic and drill groups. Keywords: bone density, bone-to-implant contact, dental implants, histology, histometry, sonic device