Evaluation of the Surrounding Ring of Two Different Extra-Short Implant Designs in Crestal Bone Maintanence: A Histologic Study in Dogs

The aim of this study was to compare the implant stability and bone resorption and formation of two different extra-short implant designs with different diameter rings placed in a dog´s maxilla. Thirty-six extra-short, 5 mm diameter × 4 mm length (Short DM(®), Bioner Sistemas Implantológicos, Barcelona, Spain), delayed implants were placed in each hemimaxilla of six dogs at the bone crest level. Eighteen implants of each design (wide and narrow ring) were installed. After 8 and 12 weeks of healing, histomorphometric analyses of the specimens were carried out to measure the crestal bone level values and the tissue thickness around the wide and narrow ring implant designs. In the microscopic analysis, less buccal bone resorption was observed in the narrow ring implants with a statistical significance (p < 0.001). For the peri-implant tissue thickness, the distance from the implant shoulder to the external portion of the epithelium was significantly higher for the implants installed with a wide ring with statistical significance (p < 0.001). Our findings suggest that the amount of peri-implant tissues (crestal bone loss) after remodeling over a period of 12 weeks was smaller in the narrow ring extra-short implant installed in the healed maxilla, compared with the wide ring extra-short implants.