Comparative Evaluation of Osseointegration Parameters between Titanium and Zirconia Implants Placed in Beagle Dogs

Purpose: Endosseous titanium dental implants are widely regarded as the gold standard for replacing missing teeth.Despite the proven osseointegration of titanium implants, particularly those with enhanced surface modifications, concerns remain regarding esthetics, the risk of peri-implantitis, and potential hypersensitivity.Consequently, alternative materials, such as zirconia, have received increasing attention in recent years.This study evaluated the osseointegration parameters of zirconia implants placed in the mandibles of beagle dogs, as a preliminary in vivo evaluation of zirconia dental implants in South Korea.Materials and Methods: Seven 8-month-old beagle dogs underwent premolar extraction followed by placement of implants in the healed mandibular ridges.The following implants were used in this study: six turned-surface titanium implants, six rough-surface titanium implants, and six zirconia implants, following which the implants and surrounding tissues were harvested en bloc for histological analyses.Bone-to-implant contact (BIC) and new bone area (BA) percentages (%) were calculated and compared between the groups.Statistical analyses were conducted using ANOVA, with the significance level set at p < .05.Results: Histological analysis revealed no statistically significant difference in BIC between the rough-surface titanium and zirconia implants, although the turned-surface titanium implants exhibited significantly lower BIC than the other two groups (p < .05).No significant differences were found among the three groups in terms of BA. Conclusion:The results of this study demonstrate that zirconia implants achieve BIC comparable to that of rough-surface titanium implants, suggestive of their potential clinical application.