Biological Sealing and Defense Mechanisms in Peri-Implant Mucosa of Dental Implants

Much attention during the early stages of basic and clinical research on dental implants has been focused on the bone (jaw)-to-titanium (implant) interface, because direct bone contact with the implant was thought to be a critical factor in implant therapeutics. However, since wide acceptance of the important concept of “osseointegration”, developed by Branemark et al. (1977) in the late 1960’s, biomaterial implants, usually titanium, have been shown to be able to bind directory and tightly to the bone surface at the engraftment sites, with no tissue intervention. This concept also avoids the risk of fibrous encapsulation, indicating that successful biological and clinical sealing can occur at the bone-to-implant interface (Kajiwara et al., 2005). The applications of titanium implant therapy have therefore increased for patients in medical and dental clinics.