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This study reports the clinical use of a bioactive bone graft material, PerioGlas, in the treatment of dental extraction sites before dental implant placement, to effect bone regeneration and to give early fixation to the implant.PerioGlas, granules, ranging from 90 to 710 mm, are implanted after tooth extraction in three patients; after 6 months bone biopsies were performed in the site of the glass implantation and observed under Electron Scanning Microscopy. All the granules showed a biodegradation involving precipitation of calcium phosphate that worked as a scaffold for osteoblasts colonization. All cases examined showed the bioactivity of PerioGlas granules resulting in new bone formation and biodegradation of the glass. After a two-year clinical follow-up all the implants were successfully loaded and appeared stable.

After the extraction of two molars in a dog's jaw, a single crystal alumina screw was implanted. Monthly radiographs were taken and analyzed by means of a video display computer (VDC) to obtain densitometric informations about the interface. After one year implantation, the bone segment containing the prosthesis was fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde, embedded in methacrylate and sectioned by a microtome saw. The results in light microscopy with ordinary and polarized light, in SEM and X-ray microanalysis, show the presence of a thick connective tissue layer interposed between the screw and the bone. The histological findings confirm the results obtained through the VDC analysis of the radiographic images.

Methods for evaluating the interface between bone and an experimental dental implant have been analyzed. The material studied was a titanium implant coated with a mixture of alumina and titanium dioxide by means of a plasma-jet system with the dog as the animal model. The evaluations were made on two levels: (1) in vivo, by analyzing radiographs of the peri-implant zone with a video display computer (2) in vitro, after explantation, by analyzing vertical and horizontal sections of the sample with an optical and a scanning electron microscope, and by a video display computer analysis of the microradiographs of these sections.