Does titanium surface treatment influence the bone-implant interface? SEM and histomorphometry in a 6-month sheep study.

ABSTRACT

Two types of threaded titanium implants (Euroteknika and Nobel Biocare) were compared in a 180-day in vivo experiment in sheep. The implant characteristics were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and image analysis to determine the roughness index of the surface. Implant specificity appeared through their slightly different chemical composition, their peculiar thread morphology, and their different roughness indexes (0.214 and 0.139, respectively). Implants were placed in the distal part of the tibial diaphysis. Histomorphometric analysis of the bone-implant interface was done on bone sections processed undecalcified. Both types of implants exhibited a similar bony reaction, with haversian bone in close contact with the titanium surface without interposition of fibrous tissue. The interface length percentage covered by bone was not significantly different between the two types of implants.