Bone scintigraphy allows tracking the process of osseointegration in dental implants

The research team led by professor Cosme Gay Escoda.
The research team led by professor Cosme Gay Escoda.
(02/08/2012)

A study carried out by researchers from the research group of Odontological and Maxillofacial Pathology and Therapeutics at the UB and at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) concludes that bone scintigraphy may be a suitable technique for monitoring the procedure in bone integration implants. The paper has been published in the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants and its authors are researchers M. Ángeles Sánchez Garcés, M. Cristina Manzanares Céspedes, Leonardo Berini Aytés and Cosme Gay Escoda, who is professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical Pathology and director of the consolidated research group of Odontological and Maxillofacial Pathology and Therapeutics.

The research team led by professor Cosme Gay Escoda.
The research team led by professor Cosme Gay Escoda.
02/08/2012

A study carried out by researchers from the research group of Odontological and Maxillofacial Pathology and Therapeutics at the UB and at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) concludes that bone scintigraphy may be a suitable technique for monitoring the procedure in bone integration implants. The paper has been published in the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants and its authors are researchers M. Ángeles Sánchez Garcés, M. Cristina Manzanares Céspedes, Leonardo Berini Aytés and Cosme Gay Escoda, who is professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical Pathology and director of the consolidated research group of Odontological and Maxillofacial Pathology and Therapeutics.

Osseointegration is a process which consists in connecting the surface of a dental implant, usually made of titanium, with the jawbone. This technique allows patients who have lost teeth to fully recover the ability to chew, as well as having an aesthetic function. The success of osseointegration depends on how the surgery is performed, the design and implant surface and the biological integration process that occurs after surgery. This process takes several months and it is important that the surgeon knows how the process of integration of the implant to bone evolves.

 
The usefulness of scintigraphy as a suitable technique to monitor osseointegration has been validated in laboratory rabbits by the researchers taking part in the scientific study. According to the first author of the paper, lecturer M. Ángeles Sánchez Garcés, from the Department of Dentistry and Stomatology of the Faculty of Dentistry and from IDIBELL, “the studyʼs results support the conclusion that bone scintigraphy is able to discriminate between metabolic activity produced on different surfaces of bone implants”. The researcher warns, however, that more studies are needed to apply the results of this research to clinical practice.
 
For further information