Early Periimplant Tissue Healing on 1-Piece Implants With a Concave Transmucosal Design: A Histomorphometric Study in Dogs.

Abstract

The purpose of our study was to investigate the early healing phase of marginal bone and soft tissues around unloaded 1-piece implants with a concave transmucosal design, in a dog model. Twenty-four 1-piece implants with a concave transmucosal neck were inserted 1 mm subcrestally in the mandibular ridge of 8 beagle dogs. Four animals were sacrificed after 3 and 12 weeks of healing. Histomorphometric analysis was performed to measure the height of the periimplant tissues. The overall height of the periimplant mucosa was, respectively, 2.67 and 2.52 mm, after 3 and 12 weeks. In the connective tissue, a soft tissue O-ring seal was observed in the healing area provided by the transmucosal concavity, after 12 weeks. The location of the first bone-to-implant contact facing the implant shoulder was 0.00 and +0.18 mm, respectively, after 3 and 12 weeks of healing. Some bone apposition occurred on the implant shoulder during the healing. Within the limits of the present study, a concave transmucosal design in 1-piece implants was associated with a short vertical value of biological width and promoted a mechanical interlocking of the implant body at the connective tissue and marginal bone levels.