In vivo comparison between laser-treated and grit blasted/acid etched titanium.
OBJECTIVE
Laser profiling of titanium has been of considerable interest in the field of oral implantology. However, very few pre-clinical and clinical studies have been performed with laser-treated implants, especially focusing on isotropic roughness topography. The aim of the study was to compare the cortical bone response of Ti-implants discs treated with pico-sec pulsed laser (LAS) and conventional grit-blasted/acid-etched (GAE) method.


METHODS
Prior to the in vivo experiment, in vitro cell viability testing of the LAS surface treatment was preformed. Then, 5 mm diameter Titanium (Ti) discs treated with LAS and GAE method were implanted in a pre-validated rabbit tibia cortical bone model and assessed with histology and histomorphometric measurements. In total, eight New Zealand White adult female rabbits were used.


RESULTS
The in vitro cell viability testing with osteoblast-like cells confirmed cytocompatibility of the LAS surface treatment. Further, the rabbit experiment demonstrated a bone-to-implant contact of 68% (±17) for the laser-treated discs and 49% (±21) for the GAE discs 8 weeks after the implantation, which was statistically not different.


CONCLUSIONS
Laser surface treatment gives the same results to the grit-blasting/acid-etched method and thus is a valid alternative to conventional roughening for dental implant materials.
Department of Biomaterials, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Ljupcho
L
Prodanov
Edwin
E
Lamers
Joop
J
Wolke
Richard
R
Huiberts
John A
JA
Jansen
X Frank
XF
Walboomers
D000134:Acid Etching, Dental; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002460:Cell Line; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015921:Dental Implants; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design; D005260:Female; D020007:Implants, Experimental; D007834:Lasers; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D023421:Models, Animal; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000502:physiology; D011817:Rabbits; D013499:Surface Properties; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D015921:Dental Implants; D014025:Titanium
animal experiments; biomaterials; bone implant interactions; laser