Purpose: The aim of study paper is to present an overview of osseointegration of dental implants, focusing on tissue response, surface modifications and future perspective.
Discussion: Great progress has been made over the decades in the understanding of osseous peri-implant healing of dental implants, leading to the development of new implant materials and surfaces. However, failures and losses of implants are an indicator that there is room for improvement. Of particular importance is the understanding of the biological interaction between the implant and its surrounding bone.
Conclusion: The survival rates of dental implants in bone of over 90 % after 10 years show that they are an effective and well-established therapy option. However, new implant materials and surface modifications may be able to improve osseointegration of medical implants especially when the wound healing is compromised. Advanced techniques of evaluation are necessary to understand and validate osseointegration in these cases. An overview regarding the current state of the art in experimental evaluation of osseointegration of implants and implant material modifications will be given in Part II.