title: Effect of interimplant distance (2 and 3 mm) on the height of interimplant bone crest: a histomorphometric evaluation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Implants restored according to a platform-switching concept (implant abutment interface with a reduced diameter relative to the implant platform diameter) present less crestal bone loss than implants restored with a standard protocol. When implants are placed adjacent to one another, this bone loss may combine through overlapping, thereby causing loss of the interproximal height of bone and papilla. The present study compares the effects of two interimplant distances (2 and 3 mm) on bone maintenance when bone-level implants with platform-switching are used.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study evaluates marginal bone level preservation and soft tissue quality around a bone-level implant after 2 months of healing in minipig mandibles. The primary objective is to evaluate histologically and histomorphometrically the affect that an implant design with a horizontally displaced implant-abutment junction has on the height of the crest of bone, between adjacent implants separated by two different distances.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results show that the interproximal bone loss measured from the edge of the implant platform to the bone crest was not different for interimplant distances of 2 or 3 mm. The horizontal position of the bone relative to the microgap on platform level (horizontal component of crestal bone loss) was 0.31 ± 0.3 mm for the 2-mm interimplant distance and 0.57 ± 0.51 mm above the platform 8 weeks after implantation for the 3-mm interimplant distance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that interimplant bone levels can be maintained at similar levels for 2- and 3-mm distances. The horizontally displaced implant-abutment junction provided for a more coronal position of the first point of bone-implant contact. The study reveals a smaller horizontal component at the crest of bone than has been reported for non-horizontally displaced implant-abutment junctions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology and Implant Dentistry, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Elian
authors.forename: Mitchell
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bloom
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dard
authors.forename: Sang-Choon
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Trushkowsky
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tarnow
mesh_terms: D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000818:Animals; D059605:Dental Implant-Abutment Design; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D008334:Mandible; D013552:Swine; D013556:Swine, Miniature