Effect of 3- and 4-mm interimplant distances on the height of interimplant bone crest: a histomorphometric evaluation measured on bone level dental implants in minipig.

Purpose: To analyze crestal bone loss changes that may affect the gingival height around an implant and bone loss in interproximal areas. When implants are placed adjacent to one another, interimplant bone loss around 1 implant may combine with the implant bone loss around the adjacent implant to affect the crestal bone loss interproximally.

Materials And Methods: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate histologically and histomorphometrically the effect that this implant design with a horizontally displaced implant-abutment junction has on the height of the crest of bone, between adjacent implants separated by 2 different distances: 4 mm and 3 mm. A secondary objective was to evaluate the percentage of bone-to-implant contact, interproximal soft tissue height, location of the junctional epithelium, and length of connective tissue contact to abutment and/or implant, for the 2 different distances.

Results: Results showed that the interproximal bone loss measured from the edge of the implant platform to the bone crest was not different for interimplant distances of 4 or 3 mm. In addition, the secondary objective parameters also demonstrated similar results between the 2 interimplant distances.

Conclusion: This study showed that interimplant bone levels can usually be maintained at similar levels for 4- and 3-mm distances during at least 2 months.