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Long-term support of dental implants requires adequate bone thickness in the area surrounding the implant. A three-dimensional examination, including calculations of percent boneGmplant contact and percent bone volume, was conducted to clarify the bone structure around pure titanium (Ti) and dense hydroxyapatite (HA) implants. The implants were installed in the tibiae of rabbits, and the bone structure was examined after 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks. The bone formation following implantation differed in the cortical bone and cancellow bone areas. In the cortical bone area, the percent bone implant contact and percent bone volume were comparatively consistent for both Ti and HA implants during the observation period. In the cancellous bone area, both findings were influenced by the implantation period, and the chronological bone structure in the cancellous bone area also differed between Ti and HA implants. The percent bone-implant contact and percent bone volume in the Ti implant increased over 8 weeks, whereas the dense HA implant increased for the first 4 weeks and then decreased. The implant materials, Ti and HA, affected the bone remodeling in the cancellous bone area.

Adequate bone quality and stress distribution to the bone are of decisive importance for implant success. The purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the influence of bone quality on the stress distribution using 2 implant-bone mimicking models, simulating compact and cancellous bone quality. The resin model was made of an acrylic resin only simulating compact bone quality. The hybrid model was made of 2 kinds of materials, acrylic resin covered with a 1-mm layer of urethane to simulate cancellous bone quality. An implant was embedded in each model, and the abutment and suprastructures were connected to the implant. A strain gauge was placed perpendicular to the implant on the surface of the model and a small accelerometer was attached to the abutment. When an impact load was applied to the suprastructure, both strain and acceleration were measured. Both abutment acceleration and surface strain in the hybrid model decreased rapidly as time progressed when compared to the resin model. Abutment accelerations in the resin model were significantly lower than those in the hybrid model. In the hybrid model, the strain increased as the loading site was moved closer to the strain gauge. The influence of loading sites on strain in the resin model was greater than in the hybrid model. Therefore, the occlusal stress was distributed more widely in the hybrid model than in the resin model. This may indicate that occlusal stress in compact bone may have a tendency to concentrate in particular regions.