PURPOSE. The objective of this study was to investigate the osseointegration properties of niobia-modified yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia ((Y,Nb)-TZP) implants, with those of titanium and 3Y-TZP implants as reference, in a rabbit tibia model.
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PURPOSE. The objective of this study was to investigate the osseointegration properties of niobia-modified yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia ((Y,Nb)-TZP) implants, with those of titanium and 3Y-TZP implants as reference, in a rabbit tibia model.
MATERIALS AND METHODS. Sandblasted (Y,Nb)-TZP implants (YNb group), sandblasted and acid-etched (Ti group) titanium implants, and smooth-surface 3D-printed 3Y-TZP implants (3Y group) were fabricated following an identical design. Surface morphology was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Implants from each group were placed into the tibiae of 16 rabbits, with 8 rabbits each sacrificed at 2 and 6 weeks, respectively. At each time point, the experiment was divided into two comparisons: Comparison 1 (Ti group vs YNb group) and Comparison 2 (3Y group vs YNb′ group), with four rabbits allocated to each comparison. For the rabbits sacrificed at 6 weeks, tetracycline and xylenol orange were injected to evaluate periodic bone remodeling at 2 and 4 weeks post-surgery. Undecalcified sections were prepared to calculate the periodic bone remodeling ratio (PBR), and Goldner’s trichrome staining was used for histomorphometric analysis of bone-to-implant contact (BIC) and bone area (BA). Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, with significance level set at 0.05.
RESULTS. Surface characterization showed that the YNb implants exhibited the highest Sa (2.32 µm) and intermediate Sdr values, whereas the Ti group demonstrated the highest Sdr (303.78%) and the 3Y group showed the lowest roughness parameters. PBR values were slightly higher in the YNb and YNb′ groups (Comparison 1: YNb (2.146) vs Ti (2.029); Comparison 2: YNb′ (2.717) vs 3Y (2.586)) without statistical significance. BIC values were significantly higher in the YNb and YNb′ groups at both 2 weeks (69.71% vs 60.98%; 71.16% vs 62.92%) and 6 weeks (92.41% vs 71.44%; 84.63% vs 63.98%) compared with Ti and 3Y groups, whereas BA values showed no significant differences.
CONCLUSION. Sandblasted (Y,Nb)-TZP implants demonstrated superior osseointegration compared with SLA titanium and smooth-surface 3D-printed 3Y-TZP implants, supporting their clinical potential as a next-generation material for zirconia implants.