| Abstract: | Undecalcified histopathologic sections of two titanium blade-vent implants (which had survived for five years in a dog) were made, and image analyses of the bone-implant interface were determined. One implant was inserted conventionally in the right mandible, and the other was inserted shallower than usual in the left mandible, so that the shoulder was located at the same level as the residual bone ridge. Using an image analysis technique, we observed, on the deeper implant, a 0-56% rate of bony contact around the implant and a 71-84% rate of bone-vent occupancy in the vents. With the shallower implant, a 0-46% rate of bony contact and a 26-60% rate of bone-vent occupancy were observed. When the two implants were compared, the deeper implant showed relatively higher bony contact and bone-vent occupancy than its less-submerged control in the five-year study. |
