Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate histomorphometrically the influence of two techniques of dental implant site preparation on bone healing around titanium implants. Fifteen male Wistar rats (±300 g) were used in the study. Each tibia was randomly assigned to receive the implant site preparation either with a conventional drilling technique (control - DRILL group) or with a piezoelectric device (PIEZO group). The animals were sacrificed after 30 days and then the following histomorphometric parameters were evaluated (percentage) separately for cortical and cancellous regions: proportion of mineralized tissue (PMT) adjacent to implant threads (500 μm adjacent); bone area within the threads (BA) and bone-implant contact (BIC). The results demonstrated that there were no statistically significant differences between both groups for cancellous BIC (p>0.05) and cortical PMT (p>0.05). On the other hand, a higher percentage of BA was observed in the PIEZO group in the cortical (71.50±6.91 and 78.28±4.38 for DRILL and PIEZO groups, respectively; p<0.05) and cancellous regions (9.62±4.06 and 19.94±14.18 for DRILL and PIEZO groups, respectively; p<0.05). The piezosurgery also showed higher PMT values in the cancellous zone (9.35±5.54 and 18.72±13.21 for DRILL and PIEZO groups, respectively; p<0.05). However, the DRILL group presented better results for BIC in cortical region (80.42±10.88 and 70.25±16.93 for DRILL and PIEZO groups, respectively; p<0.05). In conclusion, for the implant site preparation, the piezosurgery was beneficial to bone healing rates in the cancellous bone region, while the drill technique produced better results in the cortical bone.
Keywords:
bone implant interaction; dental implants; piezosurgery; animal experiments.