Behavior of the bone-titanium interface after push-in testing: a morphological study

Fourteen titanium dental implants (Tioblast) were implanted singly in the proximal tibia of New Zealand rabbits for 120 days. A bone defect was surgically produced and filled with Bio-Oss around six of these implants. After the animals were sacrificed and their organs harvested, bone segments were fixed and methacrylate embedded after the push-in test had been performed. Microradiography was performed on longitudinal sections of the implants, whereas scanning electron microscope analysis was performed on the remaining embedded half-implants using secondary electrons only. The results showed that the implants were apically and coronally surrounded by bone, whether Bio-Oss was used or not. Fractures were evident through the newly formed bone and between the pre-existing and newly formed bone. Some fracture lines propagated through the bone and stopped at the implant surface without continuing along the bone-titanium interface. Detachment between the implant and the bone occurred at the coronal extremity of the implants and along its cervical region. These results highlight the fact that the bone-titanium interface has a high resistance to loading. It exhibited greater resistance than the newly formed bone and seems to behave in a manner similar to the cement lines of osteons.     

Comparative analyses among interfaces of some ceramic materials and bone in sheep

Aim of this work is the evaluation of "in situ" implants in an animal model to study the interfaces that some ceramic materials for dental bone defects develop with bone and to check which material is more osteoconductive. In a sheep's jaw, eight holes were drilled and filled with six ceramic materials in granular shape. Two bilateral holes were left empty as reference. The ceramic materials were: porous tricalcium phosphate (TCP), porous hydroxylapatite (HA) and four bioactive glasses. The glasses differ for doping agents that affect the velocity of biodegradation in the living body. Monthly radiographs were taken and the X-ray pictures analyzed by means of a Video Display Computer in order to quantify the optical density changes occurred in the holes. After 4 months implantation, the segments of the jaw containing the materials were fixed in paraformaldehyde, embedded in methylmethacrylate and sectioned. The results obtained under the microradiograph, the SEM and the X-ray microprobe showed a good bone repair only with TCP granules. A great degradation was seen in HA granules and particularly in glasses. The degradation modified the structure and the composition of the glass granules, but it was not followed by a consequent bone deposition.     

Clinical and histological reaction of periodontal tissues to subgingival resin composite restorations

Clinical Oral Investigations - To compare the clinical and histological response of supracrestal periodontal tissues to subgingival composite restorations versus natural root surfaces In 29...     

Morphometric study of collagen maturation in chick compact bone

An ultrastructural-morphometric study was carried out on the process of osteoid maturation in growing surfaces of parallel-fibered chick bone. The aim was to investigate the distribution, size and amount of collagen fibrils (CFs), as well as the proteoglycan (PG) content, throughout the osteoid seam and in the adjacent bone. The results show that the organic components secreted by osteoblasts undergo complete maturation inside the osteoid seam only. Proceeding from the secreting plasma membrane of osteoblasts (osteoidogenic surface) towards the mineralizing surface, we found that CFs gradually increase in diameter but not in number per surface unit. As a consequence, the proportion of osteoid seam occupied by CF increases too, at the expense of the interfibrillar substance. PG content also decreases inversely in this direction. In the adjacent bone, CF size and density do not change significantly with respect to the mature osteoid close to the mineralizing surface.     

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.     

In vitro and in vivo behaviour of zinc-doped phosphosilicate glasses

The aim of this work was to study the behaviour of zinc-doped phosphosilicate glasses based on Bioglass 45S5. In vitro (in simulated body fluid), the reactivity was analysed by means of inductively coupled plasma spectrometry, environmental scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive spectroscopy (ESEM-EDS) and X-ray diffraction. In vivo (a rat implanted with glass), the reactivity and the tissue behaviour were analysed by conventional histology, histochemistry, microradiography and ESEM-EDS. The in vivo behaviour matches that in vitro perfectly; they show comparable glass degradation processes and rates, ruled by the amount of zinc in the glass. The reaction mechanism for the formation of a polymerized silica layer superimposed with a peripheral calcium phosphate layer is clearly substantiated by ESEM-EDS investigations. The crystallization of a biologically active hydroxyapatite (HA) layer is observed in both cases; the in vitro experiment shows the presence of HA after 4 days.