Evaluation of Osseointegration of Trabecular Titanium Implants Produced with Porous Metal Technology: An Experimental Study

Trabecular titanium (TM) implants produced with porous metal technology are used in dental implant treatments due to their resemblance to cancellous bone and their physical and mechanical properties. The objective of this study was to perform a histological assessment and comparison of the bone–implant contact (BIC) rates between trabecular metal (TM) implants and conventionally machined-surface implants in rat femurThe study was conducted using twenty healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, which were randomly allo- cated into two equal groups: one serving as the control group and the other receiving trabecular metal (TM) implants. All im- plants were surgically placed into the right femora of the rats. A curved incision approximately 10-15 mm long was made on the anterolateral aspect of the right knee. The knee joint cap- sule, formed by the femur and tibia, was dissected. Following this procedure, the patella was subluxed, exposing the inter- condylar fossa of the femur for implant placement. Following a 4-week healing period, undecalcified histomorphometric analyses of the samples were performed. BIC (%) measure- ments were conducted in the histomorphometric evaluations. Group comparisons were analyzed using the Student’s t-test. TM implants exhibited an average BIC of 37.13%, while stan- dard cylindrical implants had an average BIC of 29.13%, with a significant statistical difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). Within the limitation of this study titanium implants produced with TM technology have higher percentages of BIC than standard cylindrical titanium implants.