Intra-Osseous Anchorage of Dental Prostheses:I. Experimental Studies

Abstract

An investigation of factors controlling healing and long term stability of intra-osseous titanium implants to restore masticatory function in dogs revealed that an integrity of the good anchorage of the implant requires: (1) Non-traumatic surgical preparation of soft and hard tissues and a mechanically and chemically clean implant. (2) Primary closure of the mucoperiosteal flap, to isolate the implant site from the oral cavity until a biological barrier has been reestablished. (3) Oral hygiene to prevent gingival inflammation. Provided these precautions are taken, it is possible to subject dental prostheses, connected to the implants, to unlimited masticatory load. With these precautions such implants were found to tolerate ordinary use in dogs for periods of more than 5 years without signs of tissue injury or other indications of rejection phenomena.Macroscopic clinical investigation, stereomicroscopy, roentgenography and light microscopy of the implant site in situ and after removal from the body showed that the soft and hard tissues had accepted the implant and incorporated it without producing signs of tissue injury. In fact the bone appeared to grow into all the minute pits and impressions in the surface of the titanium implant, without any shielding layer of buffer tissue at all.These findings indicate that dental prostheses can be successfully anchored intra-osseously in the dog suggesting that its possible clinical use in oral rehabilitation should be given unprejudiced consideration.