Objectives: It is well known that surface treatments of dental implants have a great impact on their rate of osseointegration. The aim of this study was to compare the biocompatibility and the bone-implant contact (BIC) of titanium dental implants with different surface treatments.
Material and methods: Test implants (Biotech Dental) had a nanostructured surface and control implants (Anthogyr) were grit-blasted with biphasic calcium phosphate and acid-etched surface. Both titanium implants were inserted in mandible and maxillary bones of 6 Yucatan minipigs for 4 and 12 weeks (n = 10 implants/group). Biocompatibility and osseointegration were evaluated by non-decalcified histology and back-scattered electron microscopy images.
Results: The reading of histology sections by an antomo-pathologist indicated that the test implants were considered non-irritating to the surrounding tissues and thus biocompatible compared with control implants. The BIC values were higher for test than for control dental implants at both 4 and 12 weeks.
Conclusions: In summary, the new nanostructured titanium dental implant is considered biocompatible and showed a better osseointegration than the control implant at both 4 and 12 weeks.
Keywords: dental implants; nanostructured surface; osseointegration.
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