Abstract
Identification of an appropriate biomaterial which would allow an artificial tooth implant to function in a stable manner without eliciting a toxic response is one of the major challenges facing dentistry today, and has been the subject of an increasing number of investigations in recent years.
Because of questions which still remain regarding the biocompatibility of candidate materials, extensive animal research in tooth implantation is an absolute necessity. Primates, providing dental models closely approximating the human condition, are especially valuable for undertaking that systematic scrutiny of experimental implant materials which is so clearly prerequisite to human clinical trials.
In the current study, 26 jaw block sections, containing calcium aluminate root implantations, were surgically removed from 13 baboons. The implantation time periods ranged from 2 weeks to 10 months. The controlled porosity of the ceramic roots varied from 50 to 200 ฮผ.
Ingrowth of periodontal tissues into the porous ceramic root implants was demonstrable clinically, with light microscopy, and with the scanning electron microscope. Implant retention and stability, resulting from adequate ingrowth of fibrous/vascular elements into the ceramic pores, were optimal when the calcium aluminate root implants had a porosity of 100โ150 ฮผ. The problems of toxicity and biodegradability were not encountered using calcium aluminate.