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Published on: July 15, 2009
In vivo electrical application on titanium implants stimulating bone formation
L M Bins-Ely1, E B Cordero1, J C M Souza1
1Center for Research on Dental Implants (CEPID), School of Dentistry (ODT), Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Background And Objective:
The aim of the present in vivo study was to measure the bone implant contact area after electrical stimulation of dental implants.
Material And Methods:
Ninety titanium dental implants (6 mm × 11.5 mm) with a smooth surface were placed in six male Beagle dogs and then the implant-bone interfaces was assessed by histological analyses after 7 and 15 d. The 12-mo-old dogs, with a weight of 15 kg, were randomly divided into two groups based on the duration of bone healing: 7 and 15 d. Also, implants were divided into three groups based on electrical stimulation: group A, 10 μA; group B, 20 μA; and group C, control group. The electrical current was applied by an electrical device coupled to the implant connection.
Results:
After 7 d of electrical stimulation, no statistical differences in bone-implant interface contact area were observed. However, a significantly higher bone-implant interface contact area was recorded for group B than for groups A and C (p < 0.01) after 15 d. No statistical difference was observed between groups A and C (p > 0.05).
Conclusion:
The electrical stimulation of dental implants can generate a larger area of bone-implant interface contact as a result of bone formation. Factors such as different electrical current intensity and duration should be studied in further work to clarify the potential of this method.
