Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 29, 2026
Pilot In Vitro Study to Assess Cleaning Ability and Effects of Different Decontamination Methods on Implant Surfaces
Published on: November 21, 2025
Relationship between the surface energy and the histologic results of different titanium surfaces
Sergio Alexandre Gehrke1, Vincenzo Luca Zizzari, Flavia Iaculli
1From the *Catholic University of Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; Departments of †Pharmacy and ‡Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Science, University "G. d'Annunzio," Chieti, Italy; §Department of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara, Italy; and ∥Oral Surgery Unit, Regina Margherita Pediatric Hospital, Turin, Italy.
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to evaluate, through in vitro and in vivo studies, the existence of a relationship between surface energy, for wettability, and the clinical behavior of dental implants with different surfaces, one with a surface treated by sandblasting with titanium oxide microparticles followed by acid-etching treatment (experimental group) and another with a machined surface (control group). For the in vitro tests, a total of 30 titanium disks (15 disks for each group) were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and dispersive energy spectroscopy and for surface roughness and wettability. For the in vivo tests, a total of 24 implants (12 implants for each group) were inserted in the tibiae of 6 rabbits and were removed after 30 and 60 days for histologic analysis. The results showed that the implants with the experimental surface presented a low wettability, and it also resulted in highly stimulated new bone formation in vivo, when compared with the control group dental implant. As for the bone formation, differences between the different surfaces seemed evident, both in quantity and in quality, as implants from the experimental group showed a higher new bone deposition than that from the control group. Thus, in vitro and in vivo tests demonstrated an excellent biologic response of the surfaces treated by sandblasting with microparticles of titanium oxide followed by acid etching.
Related Concept Videos
01:16Surface Tension and Surface Energy
Consider a beaker filled with liquid. The bulk molecules in the liquid experience equal attractive forces on all sides with the surrounding molecules. However, the surface molecules experience a net attractive force downward due to the bulk molecules. The surface of the liquid behaves like a stretched membrane,...
02:57Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity
The various IMFs between identical molecules of a substance are examples of cohesive forces. The molecules within a liquid are surrounded by other molecules and are attracted equally in all directions by the cohesive forces within the liquid. However, the molecules on the surface of a liquid are attracted only by about one-half as many molecules. Because of the unbalanced molecular attractions on the surface molecules, liquids contract to form a shape that minimizes the number...