Background: Long-term success of the implant restorations is based upon the biology and vasculature of the bone surrounding the implants, especially for the bone between two implants.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate how loaded implants placed 2 or 3 mm apart influence bone vessel organization.
Material and methods: Six mongrel dogs were used for the study. The four mandibular premolars were extracted and 3 months later, four 4.5 x 10 mm implants were placed on each side of the mandible. The implants were placed so that two adjacent implants were 2 mm (group 1) or 3 mm (group 2) distant from each other. After 12 weeks, the implants were loaded with provisional prostheses, then metallic crowns were placed 4 weeks later. Both temporary and metallic restorations were made so that the distance between the contact point and the bone crest was 5 mm. The animals were sacrificed after 8 weeks. The hemi-mandibles were removed and prepared for analysis. The interimplant bone vasculature of the two groups was studied using scanning electron microscopic images fractal analysis. The fractal dimension (D(f)) was calculated using the box-counting method.
Results: The values of the D(f) for the blood vessels were significantly higher (P<.05) in the specimens of the group 2 (1.969+/-0.169) than the group 1 (1.556+/-0.246).
Conclusion: The presence of more blood vessels in the group 2 is another indication that 3 mm is a preferable distance for contiguous implants than the 2 mm distance.