Objective: Studies observing early wound healing periods around dental implants demonstrate an implants ability to enhance osseointegration, the bone-implant interactions for extended healing periods though have not been thoroughly studied.
Methods: Twenty threaded titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V, Grade 5) implants were inserted bilaterally, half prepared to impart stable hydroxyapatite nanoparticles onto a sand blasted and acid etched surface (HA) and half with a non-coated control surface with only heat treatment (HT), into eighteen rabbit femurs. At 12 weeks, the bone-implant blocks were retrieved for micro computed tomography (μCT), histologic processing and histomorphometric evaluation.
Results: The bone-to-implant contact for the entire threaded portion of the implant revealed 57.1% (21.0) for the HT group and 38.8% (17.7) for the HA group with a total bone area within the threads 72.5% (13.9) (HT) and 59.7% (12.5) (HA). The 3D reconstructed μCT image corresponded to the histomorphometric results.
Significance: It is suggested that multiple factors such as the change in topography and chemistry may have influenced the outcomes.
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