Improved Compatibility of Dental Implants

Dental implants have offered a successful way to restore teeth for more than 20 years. New challenges for improving the process include shortening the time to restore functionality and meeting aesthetic demands. Altering implant surfaces to help promote bone integration is one solution. SLActive, a new chemically modified surface for titanium, the standard ma­terial of which implants are constructed, has shown positive results in this area. The Journal of Oral Implan­tology reports a 98.2% success rate for SLActive at dental pa­tients’ one-year follow-up. A noninterventional study was conducted to compare these results with previous findings of high survival and success rates among the same type of implants in a controlled clinical trial. Results were obtained under common dental practice conditions where patient selection was not restrictive and technique was not controlled. Thirty dental clinics in Italy participated, and 226 patients were treated. Patients presented with a variety of risk factors when both the early (48 hours to 3 months) and traditional (3 to 6 months) loading of the implant was performed. Osseointegration can determine stability of the implant over time. Sur­face properties of the titanium implant, such as topography and roughness, can as­sist the chemical and biological in­terface that occurs in the early stages of healing and thus influence the long-term outcome. The 98.2% success rate of this study was similar to that reported in formal clinical trials. The high success rate in both studies shows that the SLActive im­plant surface can be safely used with consistent, predictable results. Pa­tients can expect integration of their implants that re­stores functionality for speech and chewing as well as aesthetics.