A removal torque of the laser-treated titanium implants in rabbit tibia

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the significance of different surface textures by comparison of the removal forces for laser-treated and machined titanium screw 8 weeks after the installation in rabbit tibia. A total of 14 screw shaped, commercially pure titanium implants with a length of 5 mm, a diameter of 3.75 mm were grouped as follows: Group A: seven implants left as-machined; Group B: seven implants treated with laser method (CSM implant, CSM company, Daegu, Korea) Topographic evaluation was performed with scanning electron microscope (Hitachi S-4200, Japan) to compare the surface structure of laser-treated and machined ones. Installation procedures were done according to Branemark protocol after pre-threading, machined implants were inserted in right tibia metaphysics and laser-treated surface implants were inserted in left ones. Eight weeks post surgically seven rabbits were sacrificed. The implant sites were exposed, and the bone and soft tissues that had formed on top of the implants were carefully removed. Subsequently, the force needed to unscrew the implants (n=14) was measured using a digital torque gauge (Mark-10 corporation, USA). Scanning electron micrographs of the laser-treated and machined control groups demonstrated created a deep and regular honey-comb pattern with small pore, while machined treatment created the typical microscopically grooved and relatively smooth surface characteristic. Eight weeks after implant placement, the average removal torque was 23.58+/-3.71 N cm for the machined implants, 62.57+/-10.44 N cm for the laser-treated implants. The torque measurements yielded statistically significant differences between the machined group and the laser-etched group (p=0.00055) (Wilcoxon's signed-rank test). The laser-treated group achieved higher removal torque values compared to the machined control group.