The effect of fibronectin-coated implant on canine osseointegration

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to characterize the osseointegration of the fibronectin-coated implant surface. METHODS Sand-blasted, large-grit, acid-etched (SLA) surface implants, with or without a thin calcium phosphate and fibronectin coating, were placed in edentulous mandibles of dogs 8 weeks after extraction. All dogs were sacrificed forhistological and histomorphometric evaluation after 4- and 8-week healing periods. RESULTS All types of implants were clinically stable without any mobility. Although the bone-to-implant contact and bone density of the SLA implants coated with calcium phosphate (CaP)/fibronectin were lower than the uncoated SLA implants, there were no significant differences between the uncoated SLA surface group and the SLA surface coated with CaP/fibronectin group. CONCLUSIONS Within the limits of this study, SLA surfaces coated with CaP/fibronectin were shown to have comparable bone-to-implant contact and bone density to uncoated SLA surfaces.