Bone healing in titanium and zirconia implants surface: a pilot study on the rabbit tibia

Zirconia has been considered an alternative material to titanium for implant manufacturing, however the mechanisms regarding to bone healing in presence of zirconia implants remains poorly known. Objective: The objective of the investigation was to evaluate the bone healing surrounding titanium and zirconia implants in rabbits after 7, 14, 30, 45 and 60 days of implant placement through histological evaluation. Material and methods: Fifteen rabbits were used in this study and randomly subdivided into 5 groups, according to experimental periods. Titanium and zirconia implants were inserted into the right and left tibia, respectively. After healing periods of 7, 14, 30, 45 and 60 days, animals were euthanatized, the implants were removed and the samples were submitted to histological procedures. Results: Our histological results demonstrated similar bone healing surrounding titanium and zirconia implants after 7, 14 and 30 days after implant placement. After 45 days, a trend towards to earlier bone maturation was detected, remaining after 60 days. Inflammatory infiltrate, bone resorption and foreign body reaction were not observed in any periods and groups evaluated. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that zirconia and titanium presented a similar pattern of bone healing.