Osseointegration of Low Elastic Modulus Titanium Alloy Dental Implants with Electrochemical Modification: An Experimental Study in Dogs

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the osseointegration of low elastic modulus titanium alloy dental implants with electrochemical modification in vivo. The control implants were Beijing Leiden Biomaterial (BLB) dental implants that were made of Ti-6Al-4V with a plasma-sprayed hydroxyapatite coating and Ti-24Nb-4Zr-7.9Sn (TNZS) implants without surface modification, while the test implants were TNZS implants modified with micro-arc oxidation combined with hydrothermal treatment (MAH-TNZS). The surface properties of the implants were studied using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Sixty implants were inserted in the mandibular of 10 beagle dogs for 4 and 12 weeks. The removal torque tests of the MAH-TNZS implants presented a higher value of statistical significance (p < 0.05) compared to the machined TNZS implants, which were not statistically significantly different (p > 0.05) than the BLB implants. The bone-implant contact ratio of the MAH-TNZS implants was statistically higher than the machined TNZS implants (p < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences observed between the MAH-TNZS implants and the BLB implants (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the MAH-TNZS implant has good osseointegration and can achieve good bone bonding strength. It is similar to the BLB implant in osseointegration ability and has potential to be used as an alternative material for dental implants.