Tag Archives: Nanometer-scale features on micrometer-scale surface texturing: A bone histological gene expression and nanomechanical study

Dental implants with a surface that affects genetic cellular expression

Intra-Lock International is trumpeting in triumph in the wake  of a study noting their OSSEAN-surfaced dental implants promote better bone-healing than an alternative used for comparison. From the June 10, 2014 news item on Azonano,

As reported in the internationally renowned scientific journal, Bone [in press for Aug. 2014], a research team from New York University [NYU] has confirmed what scientific developers at Intra-Lock® International, Inc. have known for several years: the fractal, nano-rough OSSEAN® surface developed for their dental implants actually changes the cellular genetic expression – or the fate of stem cells – at the nano-level, which in turn induces faster healing of implants.

A June 9, 2014 Intra-Lock news release, which originated the new item, describes what usually occurs when an implant is first situated in the tissue (cellular confusion) and how the OSSEAN surface affects the ‘confusion’,

Typically, when an implant is surgically placed, there is a period of cellular “confusion” and chaos around the implant, and usually a little bone resorbs before being formed again. The implant is then at risk from the moment it is inserted through the time when the bone is healed around it – a time period Giorno [Thierry M. Giorno, DDS, director of research and development, and CEO of Intra-Lock®, International] refers to as “the window of negative opportunity.”

However, the NYU researchers found that bone cells immediately start clustering around the OSSEAN implants and begin accelerated healing, with little confusion whatsoever.

This occurs primarily due to the biomimetic structure of the OSSEAN surface, designed and classified as nanorough and fractalii. Mimicking nature at the nano-level, the OSSEAN surface repeats a similar structural pattern to that of natural bone over and over, essentially “tricking” the body into accepting the implant as a natural substance and igniting the healing process far sooner than would occur with an artificial substance, which is smooth at the nano-level and without natural-seeming pattern repetition.

Typically, with an implant of any sort, whether it’s a dental implant in your jaw or a titanium rod in your leg, several weeks will pass before the bone begins to grow around it. During this time lapse, known as the “catabolic phase,” there can be great risk and instability with the implant.

Naturally, compressing the healing time and accelerating the degree of osseointegration – the merging of implant and bone – are highly desirable outcomes, and implants with an OSSEAN can provide a faster healing process, which thereby reduces patient discomfort and provides a higher potential for successful long-term results with the implant.

“If you’ve ever had dental implants, you can appreciate the outcomes the OSSEAN surface provides,” said Giorno. “The healing process has changed forever, and future patients with an OSSEAN surface implant can look forward to reduced complications, overall.”

Looking further into the future, Giorno said, “I believe the effects of OSSEAN can potentially revolutionize the implant industry beyond dentistry and into all types of orthopedics where patients must wait for their bodies to accept a foreign substance. With OSSEAN, the wait is over.”

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Nanometer-scale features on micrometer-scale surface texturing: A bone histological, gene expression, and nanomechanical study by Paulo G. Coelho, Tadahiro Takayama, Daniel Yoo, Ryo Jimboemail, Sanjay Karunagaran, Nick Tovar, Malvin N. Janal, and Seiichi Yamano. Bone, Issue 65, Aug. 2014. Bone (2014) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bone.2014.05.004 Published Online: May 07, 2014

This article is behind a paywall. You can find out more about Intra-Lock and OSSEAN here.