Implant-induced microdamage in osteoporotic bone.

With the increase of elderly population, more and more implant operations need to be performed in osteoporotic bone, while different forms of microdamage will be produced in peri-implant bone intraoperatively, including high- and low-density diffuse damages, as well as linear cracks. The length and location of the microcracks are the main factors in affecting the biomechanical performance of bone. Suppression of bone remodeling by bisphosphonates may lead to microdamage accumulation, which is often accompanied with the decrease of bone strength and the increase of bone fragility. Microdamage can be repaired by bone remodeling or mineralization to maintain the strength and structural integrity. Both remo- deling and mineralization can affect the bone quality and long-term implant stability. In this paper, we make a brief summary of some important issues and research progresses in this field.