implants - international magazine of oral implantology

I industry report _Introduction In 1892, Julius Wolff, a German surgeon, pub- lishedhisseminalobservationthatbonechangesits externalshapeandinternal,cancellousarchitecture in response to stresses acting on it (Wolff’s law of bone modelling and remodelling). Therefore, it is a significant engineering challenge to design a short implant that biocompatibly transfers occlusal forces from its prosthetic restoration to the sur- rounding bone. It requires the understanding and application of many basic biological, mechanical, and metallurgical principles. It is paramount that theentiredesignofaSHORT™implantoptimisesthe effectiveness of each of its features within the im- plant’s available surface area and length. Clinical success cannot be met by any single implant design featuresuchassurfacearea,butratherrequiresthe appropriate integration of all of its features. Sinceanimplant’sdesigndictatesitsclinicaland mechanical capabilities, it is scientifically approved that bone healing around a plateau-designed im- plant is different than the appositional bone (the bone that is formed by osteoblasts after cell medi- ated interfacial remodelling) around threaded im- plants.Theplateaued,taperedandroot-formedim- plantbodyprovidesfor30%moresurfaceareathan comparably-sized threaded implants. But more im- portantly,theplateausprovideforanintramembra- nous-like and faster bone formation (20-50 mi- cronsperday),resultinginauniqueHaversianbone with clinical capabilities different from the slower forming(1–3micronsperday)ofappositionalbone around threaded implants.1,2 Additionally, the plateaus provide for the transfer of compressive forces to the bone throughout the entire implant.3,4 _Description We analysed the most time-proven short im- plant on the market that was called the Driskol Pre- cision Implant in the early 1980s, than Stryker and the Bicon Dental Implant from 1993 (Boston, USA). The Bicon implant has a bacterially-sealed 1.5 degree locking taper (galling or cold welding) con- nection5,6 between the abutment and implant, with the ability for 360 degrees of universal abutment positioning.Havingabacterially-sealedconnection eliminatesthebacterialfluxassociatedwithclinical odours and tastes and reduces inflammation and bone loss consistently. Another unique characteristic is the sloping shoulder that facilitates the appropriate transfer of occlusal loads to the bone when positioned below the bony crest. But more practically, the sloping shoulder facilitates aesthetic implant restorations, foritprovidesspacefortheinterdentalpapillaewith bony support even when an implant is contiguous Time proven clinical success of the SHORT™ implant Authors_Prof. Dr Mauro Marincola, MDS Angelo Paolo Perpetuini, Dr Stefano Carelli, Prof. G. Lombardo, Italy & Dr Vincent Morgan, USA 38 I implants1_2013 Fig. 1 Fig. 2