Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026
An Improved Mechanical Testing Method to Assess Bone-implant Anchorage
Published on: February 10, 2014
Histologic evaluation of early human bone response to different implant surfaces
Sauro Grassi1, Adriano Piattelli, Luciene Cristina de Figueiredo
1Department of Periodontology, Dental Research Division, Guarulhos University, Guarulhos, São Paulo (SP), Brazil.
Background:
Studies have demonstrated that roughened dental implant surfaces show firmer bone fixation and an increased percentage of bone-to-implant contact (BIC%) compared to commercially pure titanium-surface (machined) implants. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of implant-surface topography on human bone tissue after 2 months of unloaded healing.
Methods:
Fourteen subjects with a mean age of 46.87 +/- 9.45 years received two microimplants each (2.5 mm in diameter and 6 mm in length), one test (sandblasted acid-etched surface) and one control (machined surface), either in the mandible or in the maxilla. After a healing period of 2 months, the microimplants and surrounding tissues were removed with a trephine bur and prepared for histologic analysis.
Results:
All microimplants, except for one of the controls, were clinically stable after the healing period. Histometric evaluation indicated that the mean BIC% was 23.08% +/- 11.95% and 42.83% +/- 9.80% for machined and rough microimplant surfaces, respectively (P = 0.0005). The bone area within the threads was also higher for sandblasted-surface implants (P = 0.0005). The mean percentage of bone density did not differ between the two groups (P = 0.578).
Conclusion:
Data from the present histological study suggest that the sandblasted acid-etched implant provides a better human bone tissue response than machined implants under unloaded conditions after a healing period of 2 months.
