Bone response to alteration of surface topography and surface composition of sandblasted and acid etched (SLA) implants

Abstract: The titanium surface obtained by sandblasting and etching (SLA) is an easily alterable surface that smears and loose its typical texture. In addition, the etching process modifies the surface composition of commercially pure titanium; the latter contains titanium and an added 20–40% of titanium hydride. Therefore, the influence of a heavy surface alteration and the influence of the composition at the SLA surface, i.e. with and without titanium hydride, were investigated in vivo . Three implant groups were inserted in the mandible of Land Race pigs and left to heal during 10 weeks in a submerged way: (1) a standard SLA control group (SLAstd) with the SLA surface containing titanium hydride; (2) a test group with the SLA surface heavily altered at the thread level (SLAalt); (3) a test group with an SLA surface devoid of titanium hydride (SLAT). Sample size was n = 8. Histomorphometry analysis did not show a statistically significant difference between the control group (SLAstd: 82.12 + 6.1%), the altered surface test group (SLAalt: 86.25 + 7.4%) and the SLA without titanium hydride test group (SLAT: 75.12 + 7.6%). The data suggest that alteration of the SLA surface, if it occurs, should not be detrimental to bone response. The soft and easy smearable SLA surface might even be an advantage when surface maintenance is required. Surface composition did not play a significant role in the bone response to the SLA surface and it can therefore be concluded that the osteophilic properties of the SLA surface are due to its surface topography and not to its specific surface composition.