In this pilot study, a 3D printed Grade V titanium dental implant with a novel dual-stemmed design was investigated for its\nbiocompatibility in vivo. Both dual-stemmed (n 12) and conventional stainless steel conical (n 4) implants were inserted into\nthe tibial metaphysis of New Zealand white rabbits for 3 and 12 weeks and then retrieved with the surrounding bone, fixed,\ndehydrated, and embedded into epoxy resin. The implants were analyzed using correlative histology, microcomputed tomography,\nscanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The histological presence of\nmultinucleated osteoclasts and cuboidal osteoblasts revealed active bone remodeling in the stemmed implant starting at 3 weeks\nand by 12 weeks in the conventional implant. Bone-implant contact values indicated that the stemmed implants supported bone\ngrowth along the implant from the coronal crest at both 3- and 12-week time periods and showed bone growth into microporosities\nof the 3D printed surface after 12 weeks. In some cases, new bone formation was noted in between the stems of the\ndevice. Conventional implants showed mechanical interlocking but did have indications of stress cracking and bone debris. This\nstudy demonstrates the comparable biocompatibility of these 3D printed stemmed implants in rabbits up to 12 weeks.
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