Soft tissue findings above submerged titanium implants - a histological and spectroscopic study

The aim of this study was to check the titanium level within the muco-periosteal flaps covering submerged titanium implants. The investigated material included 38 biopsies taken after 2.4-18 months (mean: 5.9) after implant insertion. Due to the evident time delay between implantation and taking the biopsy any influence of the implantation trauma itself was excluded. The implants came from the following producers: HaTi (Matthys, Switzerland), ITI (Straumann, Switzerland) and Branemark (Nobelbiocare, Sweden). The Surface areas of these implants differ in size and structure. A comparison between the titanium impregnation of the investigated biopsies did not demonstrate any remarkable influence of the surface differences. This can be explained by the fact that only the top diameter and not the implant surface as a whole was the contact area with the excised tissue. Titanium in the biopsies was analysed in terms of its effect histologically and regarding the titanium quantity by spectrophotometry. Even the highest titanium contamination was without a negative effect on the muco-periosteal cover flaps. A correlation between time delay between implantation and biopsy or of the titanium amount and tissue reactions was not demonstrable. In summary, the results again highlighted the biological acceptance of titanium. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.