Peri-implant soft tissue analyses comparing Ti and ZrO 2 abutments: an animal study on beagle dogs.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the soft tissue histomorphometric composition around implant abutments comparing two different materials, titanium (Ti) and zirconia (ZrO ₂ ).
Material and Methods: Twelve implants were placed at bone level in the mandible of six beagle dogs (one in each side). At the same day of surgery one titanium abutment was screwed to the implant in one side (control group) and a zirconia abutment was screwed in the contralateral side. Nine months after implant/abutments placement, animals were sacrificed for histological analysis. Descriptive analysis was calculated for each variable and Wilcoxon test was applied to evaluate histomorphometric variables.
Results: At the end of the study the soft tissue dimension at Ti and ZrO ₂ were similar in all counterparts: biological width, the length of the barrier epithelium, length of the connective tissue, and the percentage of collagen fibers density. However, the percentage of blood vessels was higher for the Ti in comparison to ZrO ₂ (5.11% ± 1.70 and 2.23% ± 0.98, respectively [P = 0.016]).
Conclusions: Peri-implant soft tissue histomorphology composition was similar in implant abutments made of ZrO ₂ and titanium after 9 months of healing.
(© 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)