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Effects of Implant Healing Time on Crestal Bone Loss of a Controlled-load Dental Implant

¹ MDRCBB, Department of Oral Science,
² Division of Oral Pathology, Department of Oral Science,
³ Maxillofacial Surgery Division, University of Minnesota, and
⁴ Division of Biostatistics and School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455;
⁵ Orthopedics Biomechanics Laboratory, Mayo Clinic, MN 55905; and
⁶ Department of Physiology & Biophysics, Mayo Medical School, Rochester, MN 55905;

^* corresponding author, koxxx007{at}umn.edu

The universally accepted concept of delay-loaded dental implants has recently been challenged. This study hypothesizes that early loading (decreased implant healing time) leads to increased bone formation and decreased crestal bone loss. We used 17 minipigs to study implants under a controlled load, with non-loaded implants for comparison. Radiographic and histological assessments were made of the osseointegrated bone changes for 3 healing times (between implant insertion and loading), following 5 months of loading. The effect of loading on crestal bone loss depended on the healing time. Early loading preserved the most crestal bone. Delayed loading had significantly more crestal bone loss compared with the non-loaded controls (2.4 mm vs. 0.64 mm; P < 0.05). The histological assessment and biomechanical analyses of the healing bone suggested that loading and bioactivities of osteoblasts exert a synergistic effect on osseointegration that is likely to support the hypothesis that early loading produces more favorable osseointegration.

KEY WORDS: dental implant • early loading • crestal bone loss • biomechanics • micro-CT