HISTOLOGIC ASPECTS OF THE BONE AND SOFT-TISSUES SURROUNDING 3 TITANIUM NON-SUBMERGED PLASMA-SPRAYED IMPLANTS RETRIEVED AT AUTOPSY - A CASE-REPORT

THE AUTHORS REPORT THE HISTOLOGICAL features found around three non-su bmerged titanium plasma-sprayed implants retrieved, after a 10-month l oading period, from an autopsy case. At the time of implant insertion, the clinician had noted a wide vestibular dehiscence of the central i mplant, and it was decided to use a bioabsorbable membrane for guided bone regeneration in this area. After specimen processing, it was poss ible at low magnification to observe that in the most vestibular slide s, the central implant was almost completely surrounded by connective tissue, while in the most lingual slides, the quantity of bone around the implant tended to increase, The other two implants had a bone-impl ant contact percentage of about 60%. Only in a few areas was mineraliz ed bone in direct contact with the metal surface, while around the maj or portion of the implant perimeter a layer of unmineralized, red-stai ned, osteoid material was present. No inflammatory infiltrate was pres ent in the epithelium and in the supracrestal connective tissues. The fibers of this tissue had a different orientation: in the most coronal portion of the implants (smooth surface), they tended to run parallel to the implant's surface, while in the most apical region (plasma-spr ayed surface), they tended to be arranged in a perpendicular fashion. These results, in man, were strikingly similar to those previously rep orted in dogs and monkeys.