title: Osseointegration of endosseous ceramic implants after postoperative low-power laser stimulation: an in vivo comparative study.
abstract: Stimulation with low-power laser (LPL) can enhance bone repair as reported in experimental studies on bone defects and fracture healing. Little data exist concerning the use of LPL postoperative stimulation to improve osseointegration of endosseous implants in orthopaedic and dental surgery. An in vivo model was used for the present study to evaluate whether Ga-Al-As (780 nm) LPL stimulation can improve biomaterial osseointegration. After drilling holes, cylindrical implants of hydroxyapatite (HA) were placed into both distal femurs of 12 rabbits. From postoperative day 1 and for 5 consecutive days, the left femurs of all rabbits were submitted to LPL treatment (LPL group) with the following parameters: 300 J/cm2, 1 W, 300 Hz, pulsating emission, 10 min. The right femurs were sham-treated (control group). Three and 6 weeks after implantation, histomorphometric and microhardness measurements were taken. A higher affinity index was observed at the HA-bone interface in the LPL group at 3 (P<0.0005) and 6 weeks (P<0.001); a significant difference in bone microhardness was seen in the LPL group vs. the control group (P<0.01). These results suggest that LPL postoperative treatment enhances the bone-implant interface.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Surgery/Codivilla-Putti Research Institute, Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, Bologna, Italy. gaetanoantonio.guzzardella@ior.it
authors.forename: Gaetano A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Guzzardella
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Torricelli
authors.forename: Nicolò
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nicoli-Aldini
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Giardino
mesh_terms: D000535:Aluminum; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001151:Arsenic; D015519:Bone Density / Q000528:radiation effects; D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry; D015921:Dental Implants; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design; D017886:Durapatite / Q000737:chemistry; D005269:Femur / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000601:surgery*; D005708:Gallium; D028022:Low-Level Light Therapy / Q000379:methods; D023421:Models, Animal; D016348:Osseointegration; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011817:Rabbits; D013499:Surface Properties; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015921:Dental Implants; D017886:Durapatite; D005708:Gallium; D000535:Aluminum; D001151:Arsenic