RESUMEN
A pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) has been shown to contribute to heightening bone regeneration in a range of clinical areas, including dentistry. Due to the scarcity of studies using PEMF in oral implantology, the present experiment scrutinized the effect of PEMF can lead to improving the stability of the implant. A total of 19 subjects (40 implants in total) were selected to participate in the current study and were randomly allocated to either the PEMF group or control group. Subjects in the PEMF group received an activated miniaturized electromagnetic device (MED) while the control group received a sham healing cup. Implants stability was assessed by resonance frequency analyses (RFA) via implant stability quotient (ISQ) calculations. RFA were recorded as following: immediately after procedure, and then 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 weeks later. Radiographic analysis was performed at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks after implant placement. Proinflammatory cytokines were evaluated in peri-implant crevicular fluid (PICF). The PEMF group presented higher ISQ mean values when compared to the control group. The primary stability time frame (the first 2 weeks) MED group depicted an increase in stability of 6.8%, compared to a decrease of 7.6% in the control group related to the baseline. An overall stability increase of 13% was found in MED treated group (p = 0.02), in contrast, the overall stability in the control group decreased by 2% (p = 0.008). TNF-α concentration during first 4 weeks was lower in the MED treated group. The data strongly suggests that MED generated continuing a PEMF may be considered as a new way to stimulate the stability of the implants at the early healing period.
RESUMEN
AIM: Spiral family implants (SFIs) are a new type of implant fixture with a conical internal helix and a variable thread design. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of a series of SFIs. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 234 SFIs were placed in 86 patients (55 females and 31 males, median age 53 years) during the period between May 2004 and November 2007. The mean follow-up was 13 months. Several host, surgery, and implant-related factors were investigated, and the Kaplan Meier algorithm and the Cox regression were used to detect variables associated with the clinical outcome. RESULTS: Only nine out of 234 implants were lost (i.e., survival rate (SVR) of 96.2%) and no differences were detected among the studied variables. CONCLUSION: SFIs have a high SVR similar to those reported in previous studies on different implant types. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: SFIs demonstrated a very high primary stability which offers the potential for use of a specific implant device for immediate loading. However, additional studies are necessary to verify their outcome on the medium/long period.