Thanks to advancements in dental technology, you and your technicians can provide quicker and more precise implant treatment to your patients. For dental implant treatment, three to sixth months is the general recovery time. Based on the findings of a new case study, nerve electrical stimulation has the potential to develop a groundbreaking method to facilitate the implant-bone osseointegration process. As technology changes daily, it is important to stay educated on the latest news regarding dental implants. Read below to learn how microelectrode stimulation can promote the formation of new bone and the osseointegration of implants.
When experiencing tooth loss, patients also tend to have trouble chewing, speaking, and smiling with confidence. To repair tooth loss, dental implantation is the preferred method for most dentists and patients. Dental implants provide a predictable way to restore both single and multiple teeth. They are particularly effective for edentulous patients. Treatment can closely replicate a patient’s natural teeth, both aesthetically and functionally. With dental implants, patients regain normal masticatory function and the ability to speak properly and smile with confidence.
After the implants are planted into the bone tissue, several processes occur between the implant and the bone. These reactions include the absorption of proteins, bone formation and reconstruction, and osteoblast adhesion. The end result of these reactions is a stable condition called osseointegration. The success of dental implants is measured by good bone-implant osseointegration, which is why researchers have conducted many case studies to enhance the osseointegration of dental implants.
Many patients refuse to receive dental implants because of the excessive recovery timeframe and the discomfort they cause. The authors of this case study focus their efforts on shortening the healing time of dental implants. In the present case study, the sympathetic nerves of the infraorbital nerve in beagles were stimulated with microelectrodes to induce changes in their electrical signal, and the effects of the electrical stimulation on new bone formation and implant-bone osseointegration were investigated.
First, cylindrical titanium implants were implanted in the tooth sockets of eight female beagles aged 2-3 years. After implantation, researchers performed a microelectrode stimulation of the sympathetic nerves in the infraorbital nerve for an entire week.
The authors found that one-sided nerve stimulation was shown to evoke consistent electric potential changes in both sides of the infraorbital nerves. Additionally, after four weeks of implantation, more new bone was clearly observed around the implants in the beagles that received electrical stimulation treatment than was observed in the control group. Furthermore, the bone remodeling observed in the 3D micro-CT data showed that electrical stimulation of the sympathetic nerve could increase the mineralization density of newly formed bone in the implanted beagles when compared to the control beagles.
The authors believe that our simple and safe method of microelectrode stimulation holds great promise to accelerate the implant-bone osseointegration process and reduce the healing time if dental implantation in clinical cases. More research is needed to assess the results of electrical nerve stimulation in humans, but this case study holds great promise for the future of osseointegration of dental implants.
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References:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-41471-z