COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE OSTEOBLASTIC ACTIVITY OF TWO IMPLANT SYSTEMS (Endopore versus Entegra) UTILIZING SINGLE PHOTON EMISSION COMPUTERISED TOMOGRAPHY (SPECT): EXPERIMENTAL STUDY IN PIGS MODEL

Abstract

Implantology has been an important component of dental management for over forty years, and during that period, many configurations of implant materials and methods have been developed. As empirical and clinical research yield new implant materials, there has been need to test and compare these materials to provide the most cost-effective and efficient implants. Evaluation of efficiency of implants has relied heavily on histological and radiological methods, but these one dimensional measurement methods fail to evaluate the osteoblastic activity and osseointegration properties of putative implants. In this report we describe the use of a quantitative single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) as a tool for comparing the osseo-integrating capabilities of two types of implant