Bone microvascular pattern around loaded dental implants in a canine model

The vascularity of the implant bed is a very important parameter in both bone formation and maintenance after dental implants insertion. The relationship between bone and vessels network organization is still unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the three-dimensional bone vascular canals of the peri-implant bone after loading. A total of ten implants with sandblasted and acid-etched surface were placed in the mandible of a beagle dog. Three months later, the implants were connected and loaded. The dog was killed after 12 months. The specimens were embedded and processed for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. After a 1-year loading period, a very intricate vessel network could be seen around the implants. The vessels, with neighbouring soft tissues, were round in shape and showed a lot of anastomoses with a mesh-like appearance. They ran circularly around the dental implant. In the bone, the majority of the vessels appeared to ran parallel to the mandibular canal. After a 1-year loading period, the peri-implant bone vasculature looked like a mesh that surrounded the implants. Nevertheless, the presence of many thick vessels inside the peri-implant crestal bone indicates a high metabolic need and also a different bone organization, as no osteons were noted. The crater-like bone loss around the marginal part of the implant could be related to the microvasculature "strain". A high strain level could continuously activate the osteocyte-vessel syncytium, producing a net bone loss.