Characterisation of Dental Implant Surfaces

The use and development of implants for restoring lost teeth has been through several phases to reach the optimal goal of having a permanent, artificial anchoring of fixed bridges or crowns in the upper and lower jaw. This period, mainly based on trial-and-error approaches, has led to the development of different implant materials, designs and treatment techniques.Today's implant materials function well when the bone quality is good and especially when there is bicortical anchorage. However, in many cases, the situation is not optimal and regions have cancellous bone and thin cortical lamellae. Although some recent reports indicate that good clinical results can be achieved even after shorter healing time using the conventional implants,most research shows that a relatively long healing period without any stress is needed to achieve a tight bony contact with the implant material.The healing time, however, depends on the bone quality, and one aspect of current research is to try to determine the best treatment modalities with reduced bone quality, particularly in the maxillary region.