Surface characterization of commercial oral implants on the nanometer level

Lately, there has been a growing interest in how the presence of nanometer structures on a bone integrated implant surface influences the healing process. Recent in vitro studies have revealed an increased osteoblast response to different nanophase surfaces. Some commercial implant brands claim their implants have nanometer structures. However, at present, there are no studies where the nano topography of today's commercially available oral implants has been investigated. The aim of this study was to characterize commercial oral implants on the nanometer level and to investigate whether or not the nanometer surface roughness was correlated to the more well-known micrometer roughness on the implants. Twelve different commercial screw-shaped oral implants with various surface modifications were examined using scanning electron microscopy and a white light interferometer. The interferometer is suitable for detection of nanoscale roughness in the vertical dimension; however, limitation exists on the horizontal due to the wavelength of the light. A 1 x 1 microm Gaussian filter was found to be useful for identifying nm roughness with respect to height deviation. The results demonstrated that an implant that was smooth on the micrometer level was not necessarily smooth on the nanometer level. Different structures in the nanometer scale was found on some of the implants, indicating that to fully understand the relationship between the properties of an implant surface and its osseointegration behavior, a characterization at the nanometer scale might be relevant.