A four-year prospective study of self-assembling nano-modified dental implants in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Dental implantation has become an efficient and important method of replacing lost teeth. However, the success rate of dental-implant treatment in diabetics is higher than patients without diabetes. The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate long-term marginal bone loss (MBL) and the stability of a self-assembling nano-modified implant in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus compared with a conventional implant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-five patients with type 2 diabetes were recruited for this study. Through a random selection process, one site in each patient received a conventional implant and the other site received a nano-modified implant. The implant stability quotient was measured using resonance frequency analysis (RFA), and MBL was measured using panoramic radiography from uncovering to four-year follow-up. RESULTS: No significant difference in implant stability quotient was found between the two groups (P > 0.05), except for the time at implant insertion (P < 0.05). MBL in the nano-modified implant group exhibited a decreasing change compared with the conventional implant group, between the uncovering and the loading stage (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in other stages (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: There was potentially increased implant stability and diminished MBL around the self-assembling nano-modified implant in the uncovering-loading stage of early osseointegration in patients with type 2 diabetes.