Peri-implant cell response on groove and pore-textured zirconia surfaces

This study aimed to assess the independent influence of grooves and pores texturized by milling on gold-standard zirconia implant surfaces.

Milled groove and pore textured with equivalent width, depth, and spacing on zirconia discs were produced using press and sintering techniques. All samples were sandblasted and acid-etched (SBAE), and untextured discs were used as controls. Osteoblasts and fibroblasts were cultured on discs for 14 days. Field emission gun-scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM) was used to observe cellular adhesion and morphology. Cell viability and proliferation assays were performed. Additionally, alkaline phosphatase activity, collagen type I, and osteopontin were evaluated at pre-defined time points. Results are presented as mean and standard deviation (SD), group comparisons were tested using one-way ANOVA (Tukey's post-hoc), and significance was set at P < 0.05.

FEG-SEM images revealed cellular adhesion at 24 h in all samples with differences in distribution. Although both cell lines showed increased cell viability and differentiation cell markers such as collagen and osteopontin over time, statistically significant differences between groups were found in none of the quantitative study variables (P > 0.05).

The results suggest similar cellular behavior between different patterns with similar dimensions and between them and microtopography by SBAE protocol currently used as the gold-standard for zirconia dental implants. The addition of pore and groove microtextures to the gold-standard zirconia dental implant surfaces treated with SBAE does not seem to be an asset in the cellular behavior of the hard and soft tissue cells.