Objectives: The study evaluated the osseointegration of atmospheric plasma treated PEEK implant surfaces versus the untreated PEEK surfaces.
Material & Methods: The PEEK implants were milled using carbon reinforced PEEK material with CAD-CAM milling machine. The implants were placed in 6 male mongrel dogs, each dog received 2 groups of PEEK implants. The control group consisted of untreated surface PEEK implants. The study group consisted of atmospheric plasma-sprayed PEEK implants. the implants were placed in the dog femur. After 12 weeks, the animals were sacrificed, and bone-implant sections were obtained for histological evaluations and bone-to-implant contact. Electron microscope scanning was performed to assess the topography of the surface of treated and untreated PEEK implant surface.
Results: Qualitative evaluation of the stained histological sections of the PEEK implants demonstrated a well distributed bone in proximity to the atmospheric plasma-sprayed PEEK implant surface after 12 weeks of placements. The bone-to-implant contact showed a significant difference (P < 0.001) between treated and untreated PEEK implant surface.
Conclusions: Within the limitation of the present study, it is concluded that the atmospheric plasma-sprayed surface treatment may improve the osseointegration of PEEK implant.
Key Words: PEEK, Osseointegration, plasma-spray, titanium, dental implant.