The evaluation of the interface between bone and a bioceramic dental implant

Methods for evaluating the interface between bone and an experimental dental implant have been analyzed. The material studied was a titanium implant coated with a mixture of alumina and titanium dioxide by means of a plasma-jet system with the dog as the animal model. The evaluations were made on two levels: (1) in vivo, by analyzing radiographs of the peri-implant zone with a video display computer (2) in vitro, after explantation, by analyzing vertical and horizontal sections of the sample with an optical and a scanning electron microscope, and by a video display computer analysis of the microradiographs of these sections.