MORPHOSTRUCTURAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BONE AND IMPLANT - COMPARATIVEANALYSES BY OPTICAL MICROSCOPY AND MICRORADIOGRAPHY

This study assessed the relationship between the surfaces of a hollow cylindrical titanium implant and the consequent bone organization arou nd it. A human bone maxillary specimen was taken that enclosed an impl ant which had lasted 28 months under prosthetic loading. The implant w as removed because of fracture that prevented the implant from being u sed as a supporting element for new prosthetic aims. The bone block-se ction was fixed and embedded, several sections were obtained, and each section was analyzed using three different histologic analyses. optic al microscopy under ordinary light and polarized light and microradiog raphy. Comparative analyses were required on every single section to p rovide a complete morphostructural analysis of the peri-implant bone. Data retrieved by this research showed the presence of woven bone in t he bone layer facing the external implant surface several months after ifs surgical fitting and functionalization. This finding demonstrates the importance of woven bone, first as holding sheath in the immediat e postsurgical stage, and second as a mold for the subsequent centripe tal accrementition of secondary lamellar bone.