Bone and Soft Tissue Integration to Titanium Implants with Different Surface Topography: An Experimental Study in the Dog

The aim of the present experiment was to study the peri-implant soft and hard tissues formed at titanium implants with 2 different surface configurations and to give a topographic description of the surfaces examined. In 5 beagle dogs, the mandibular premolars were extracted. Three months later, 4 self-tapping standard implants (SI) and 4 Osseotite implants (OI) of the 3i Implant System were placed. The marginal 3 mm of the OI is turned, while the remaining part has an acid-etched surface structure. Abutments were connected after 3 months. A plaque control period was initiated, and after 6 months block biopsies were obtained. From each animal 2 units of each implant type were processed and embedded in EPON. The remaining biopsies were processed for ground sectioning. The histometric measurements performed on the EPON sections revealed that the peri-implant soft tissues and the marginal level of bone-to-implant contact were similar for SI and OI sites. In the ground sections, bone-to-implant contact (BIC%) and bone density assessments were made in 2 different zones. Zone I represented the contact area measured from the marginal level of bone-to-implant contact (B) to a position 4 mm above the apex of the implant, and zone II represented the apical 4 mm of the implant. For the SI sites, the BIC% was 56.1% in zone II and 58.1% in zones I + II. The corresponding figures for the OI sites were 76.7% and 72.0%. The BIC% was significantly larger at OI than at SI sites. Bone density values were similar at the SI and OI sites.