Human dental implants with a sandblasted, acid-etched surface retrieved after 5 and 10 years: a light and scanning electron microscopy evaluation of two cases

The aim of the present study was a light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) evaluation of the peri-implant tissues around sandblasted, acid-etched implants, retrieved from man, after a loading period of 5 and 10 years, respectively. Two implants (Leone Implant System) had been retrieved for a fracture of the prosthetic superstructure respectively after 5 and 10 years of loading. Both implants were stable before retrieval and had been retrieved using a 5-mm trephine bur. One implant was treated to obtain thin ground sections, while the other underwent evaluation under SEM. Compact, mature lamellar bone was present over most of the implant perimeter in close contact with the implant surface and with many remodeling areas. Under SEM, small concavities, completely filled by mineralized bone, were present on the implant surface. The present histologic results showed that these implants were well integrated over the long term, and the peri-implant bone was undergoing continuous remodeling at the interface.