Effect of implant design on initial stability of tapered implants

Implant design is one of the parameters for achieving successful primary stability. This study aims to examine the effect of a self-tapping blades implant design on initial stability in tapered implants. Polyurethane blocks of different densities were used to simulate different bone densities. The two different implant designs included one with self-tapping blades and one without self-tapping blades. Implants were placed at 3 different depths: apical third, middle third, and fully inserted at 3 different densities of polyurethane blocks. A resonance frequency (RF) analyzer was then used to measure stability of the implants. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to examine the effect of implant design, insertion depth, and block density on RF. Analysis of covariance was used to examine the strength of association between RF and the aforementioned factors. In both medium-density (P = .017) and high-density (P = .002) blocks, fully inserted non-self-tapping implants showed higher initial stability than self-tapping implants. No differences were noted between the 2 implant designs that were not fully inserted. The highest strength of association was with insertion depth (standardized beta [std beta] = -0.60, P = .0001), followed by block density (std beta = -0.15, P = .0002). Implant design showed a weak association (std beta = -0.07, P = .09). In conclusion, fully inserted implants without self-tapping blades have higher initial stability than implants with self-tapping blades. However, the association strength between implant design and initial stability is less relevant than other factors, such as insertion depth and block density. Thus, if bone quality and quantity are optimal, they may compensate for design inadequacy.