Evaluation of the osseointegration of dental implants coated with calcium carbonate: an animal study

In an attempt to overcome the limitations of titanium in dental and orthopaedic clinical applications, a new method has been developed to prepare calcium carbonate coatings on sandblasted and acid-etched (SA) titanium implants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of calcium carbonate-SA (CC-SA) implants on osseointegration in vivo. The surfaces of SA and CC-SA implants were characterised for surface morphology and surface chemistry. Subsequently, these two kinds of implants were implanted in the femoral condyles of rabbits. The implants were retrieved and prepared for histological and histomorphometric evaluation 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after implantation. Significantly higher values of bone-to-implant contact of the entire implant except the gap area (BIC_ALL) and the bone-to-implant contact of the gap area (BIC_GAP) were found in animals with the CC-SA implants than in those with the SA implants at 4 weeks. Higher values of total gap bone were found in those with the CC-SA implants than in those with the SA implants at 1, 2 and 4 weeks. In conclusion, the current findings demonstrate that the calcium carbonate coating can improve and accelerate the early ingrowth of bone and osseointegration at the early healing phase. This may reduce clinical healing times and thus improve implant success rates.