Success Rate, Healing Time, and Implant Stability of Photofunctionalized Dental Implants

Purpose: This is the first study to report the clinical outcomes of photofunctionalized dental implants. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 95 consecutive patients who received 222 untreated implants and 70 patients who received 168 photofunctionalized implants over a follow-up period of 2.5 years. Photofunctionalization was performed by treating implants with UV light for 15 minutes using a photo device immediately before placement. The generation of superhydrophilicity and hemophilicity along with a substantial reduction in atomic percentage of surface carbon was confirmed after photofunctionalization. In both groups, 90% of the implants were placed in complex cases requiring staged or simultaneous site-development surgery. The implant stability was measured at implant placement and loading using the implant stability quotient (ISQ) values; then, the rate of implant stability development was evaluated by calculating the ISQ increase per month. Results: The healing time before functional loading was 3.2 months in photofunctionalized implants and 6.5 months in untreated implants. The success rate was 97.6% and 96.3% for photofunctionalized and untreated implants, respectively. The ISQ increase per month for photofunctionalized implants ranged from 2.0 to 8.7 depending on the ISQ at placement, and it was considerably higher than that of untreated implants reported in the literature ranging from -1.8 to 2.8. Photofunctionalization resulted in a more frequent use of implants of 10 mm or shorter length and an overall decrease in implant diameter. Conclusions: Within the limits of this retrospective study, despite the more frequent use of shorter and smaller-diameter implants, the use of photofunctionalization allowed for a faster loading protocol without compromising the success rate. The outcome was associated with an increased rate of implant stability development. The results suggest that photofunctionalization may provide a novel and practical avenue to further advance implant therapy.