Comparative analysis of novel damping capacity analysis devices for assessing implant stability in clinical practice

Implant stability testing is crucial for verifying osseointegration before prosthetic loading. Several methods have been developed to assess osseointegration. Among these, damping capacity analysis (DCA) devices offer a user-friendly and non-invasive approach. In this study, we evaluated the accuracy and reliability of newly available DCA devices in assessing dental implant stability.

This study included 58 implants from 37 patients over a 1-month period. Three measurements per implant were obtained with healing abutments in place, following the manufacturers' guidelines, using the DCA-P (Periotest M, Medizintechnik Gulden), DCA-A (Anycheck, Neobiotech), and DCA-T (The Trust, Dentium) devices. Factors such as healing abutment height, time since placement, bone grafting, fixture diameter, and fixture length were evaluated. Accuracy was assessed using DCA-P as the reference, and reproducibility was statistically analyzed using 3 measurements per implant. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS Statistics 23.0 (IBM Corp.).

All implants that passed the stability tests using DCA devices were restored with definitive prostheses and showed no signs of early failure. The DCA-A value demonstrated a very strong correlation with the DCA-P value (DCAV-P), whereas the DCA-T value exhibited only a moderate correlation with DCAV-P. DCA-P also showed the highest reliability, followed by DCA-A and then DCA-T. The reliability of DCA-A and DCA-T was not significantly affected by any of the assessed factors; in contrast, DCA-P's reliability was significantly influenced by arch location and specific quadrant position.

With DCA-P as the reference, DCA-A demonstrated superior accuracy compared to DCA-T. Although DCA-P exhibited the highest reliability, its performance was significantly affected by the positional factors of the target implant.