Study of the osseointegration of dental implants placed with an adapted surgical technique

Objective: To study the osseointegration of dental implants placed with a modified surgical technique in Beagle dogs and to compare it with the conventional method. Materials and methods: Dental implants were placed bilaterally in the mandible of Beagle dogs using the press-fit as well as undersized implant bed preparation technique. Micro computer tomography (micro-CT) and histometric methods were used to analyze the bone implant contact and bone volume (BV) around the implants. Results: The bone-to-implant contact percentage (BIC: expressed as %), first BIC (1st BIC: expressed in mm), sulcus depth (SD: expressed in mm) and connective tissue thickness (CT: expressed in mm) were analyzed for both groups. The BIC percentage was significantly higher for the undersized installed implants (P=0.0118). Also, a significant difference existed between the undersized and press-fit installed implants for the first screw thread showing bone contact (P=0.0145). There were no significant differences in mucosal response (SD and CT) for both installation procedures. Also, no significant difference was found in the BV, as measured using micro-CT, between the implants placed with an undersized technique (59.3 +/- 4.6) compared with the press-fit implants (56.6 +/- 4.3). Conclusion: From the observations of the study, it can be concluded that an undersized implant bed can enhance the implant bone response.