Zirconia drills presented more regular surfaces whereas stainless steel drills revealed more severe signs of wear. Further studies must be performed to evaluate the putative influence of these findings in heat generation.
Objectives
The objective of this study was to determine the relative osteogenic behavior of titanium implants with or without a porous tantalum modification when placed with a gap between the implant and existing bone.
Materials and Methods
A gap‐healing model in the rabbit tibia was used for placement of titanium implants. Forty‐eight rabbits received 96 implants, with 48 of the implants containing a porous tantalum middle section and the remaining 48 implants were composed of solid titanium. After 4, 8, and 12 weeks of healing, biomechanical stability was measured with removal torque testing, implant‐adherent cells were isolated for analysis of osteogenic gene expression, and histomorphometric analysis was performed on sections of the implants and surrounding bone.
Results
Increased osteogenic activity at 4 weeks was demonstrated by upregulation of key osteogenic genes at implants containing porous tantalum which was accompanied by greater bone–implant contact at 4, 8, and 12 weeks and significantly greater removal torque at 8 and 12 weeks.
Conclusions
Implants containing porous tantalum demonstrated increased peri‐implant bone formation within this gap‐healing model as shown by significant differences in biomechanical and histomorphometric outcomes. Such implants may represent an alternative to influence bone healing in surgical sites with an existing gap.
Surfaces with nanotopography have the potential to improve the osseointegration response in order to reduce the osseointegration time and also increase bone formation around the implants, improving areas with low bone quality. Within the limitation of this study, nanotopography surfaces affected MSC differentiation to osteoblasts. Several miRNAs were differentially regulated by surface topography. These miRNAs could be related to the differentiation response to help control the osseointegration process.
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