| Summary: | Objective: A multicenter clinical trial was conducted to characterize the surface
topography of the peri-abutment epithelium after removal of the dental implant healing abutment.
Methods: The study included a total of 10 Straumann (S) and 19 Nobel Biocare (N) dental implants. All dental implants were placed by either a certified periodontist (private practice) or residents of the Graduate Periodontics clinic at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Photographs of the peri-abutment epithelium were taken and analyzed using Image J software for % area of redness. Silicone impressions of the peri-abutment epithelium were taken and used to fabricate epoxy replicas that were imaged under SEM.
Student T-tests were used to analyze differences between groups (p < 0.05) and one-way ANOVA was conducted to compare dental implants in the molar, premolar, and anterior regions of the mouth. Pearson Correlation Coefficients were also calculated to compare the relationship between different parameters; % area of redness, peri-abutment soft tissue height (mm), and days after installation.
Results: The mean sample collection time was 125 days (range 83 to 231 days). There was a statistically significant difference in the % red areas of the peri-abutment epithelium between the S (M = 8.092, SD = 4.595) and N (M = 17.786, SD = 11.572) groups (p < 0.05). The N (M = 2.775, SD = 0.758) group had a greater mean soft tissue height when compared to the S (M = 2.330, SD = 0.447) group; however, this difference was found not to be statistically significant (p > 0.05). There was a positive correlation between the peri-abutment soft tissue height and % area of redness that was found to be
statistically significant (p < 0.05). SEM images showed successful replication of the periabutment epithelium to a high level of detail of less than 1 μm.
Conclusion: The peri-abutment epithelium was successfully replicated and imaged under high magnification with SEM. Characterization of the peri-abutment epithelium showed that there was a higher % of red areas around Nobel Biocare abutments. An increase in peri-abutment soft tissue height (mm) was associated with a concomitant increase in % of red areas.
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