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Updated: Jul 5, 2026
An Improved Mechanical Testing Method to Assess Bone-implant Anchorage
Published on: February 10, 2014
Torque removal force for osseointegrated implants--two experimental studies
J F Lownie1, P A Betts, R S Bryant
1Division of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Objective:
To introduce a rabbit-based model for testing the torque removal force (TRF) of implants and to compare the TRF of a series of titanium implants.
Methods:
Two experiments were performed at the University of the Witwatersrand. In the first, a Swedish- (SSM-N) or a South African-manufactured (SSM-S) implant was implanted into the tibiae of 12 rabbits and the TRF measured at 1, 3 and 6 months. In the second experiment, the TRF of 4 South African-manufactured titanium implants in the tibia or femur of 32 rabbits were compared at 3 and 6 weeks. The implants were: 1 threaded machined (SSM-S), and 3 surface-enhanced--1 threaded (SLA), 1 threaded tapered (MTT) and 1 pitted (RI).
Results:
In experiment 1, TRF increased significantly with time (p<0.05) but there was no significant difference between TRF for the South African and Swedish machined-surface implant types. In experiment 2, the TRF of the MTT implant was significantly greater (p<0.0001) than the other 3 types, which did not differ significantly from each other. Time had no significant effect.
Conclusion:
In an internationally used rabbit-based model, South African and Swedish machined-surface titanium implants were equivalent; surface-enhanced implants produced higher TRF, and a tapered implant showed the highest TRF.
