In this paper we present the first results of a broad research line aiming a better understanding about dental implants as the number of procedures, successes and failures in Brazil and possible reasons of losses (from problems on diagnose to fabrication defects from different brands offered in the Brazilian market). One thing that is already evident is the lack of details of the performed elemental analysis of implants, not only in Brazil but also on the majority of reported analyses published on international journals dedicated to the field. There are already a significant number of reports about the composition of dental implants and its surfaces, but in general they have not performed tests enough to validate the results nor reported the procedure with sufficient details establishing their comprehensiveness, which is critical to enable a comparison between those results. One detected problem is the using of a non standard geometry in some equipment that require special shapes or dimension for the analysis. The other is the determination of the uncertainties to be associated to the results. Here we will perform a brief review of the dental implant history, of some problems found in the elemental analysis and will present two sets of measurements, one to investigate the consequences of using nonstandard geometries and another comparing elemental analyses made with different instruments.

INTRODUCTION

The first record of dental implants was 2000 BC, with the use of gold, platinum and porcelain. The Mayan civilization, among the many scientific advances it generated, was the first to use endosseous dental implants [1]. Over the years, various materials have been tested for dental implants, such as chromium-cobalt-molybdenum and iron-chromium-nickel alloys, stainless steel, and metals such as gold, platinum and silver. However, the clinical success obtained in the medium and long term for these materials was very low due to high peri-implant bone reabsorption [2]. The finding of the concept of osseointegration only occurred in 1965 by Brånemark in Sweden, leading a research group at the University of Gothenburg [3]. The original research of Brånemark was on the microcirculation of blood in rabbit tibias, with the assistance of a small titanium optical chamber, which was surgically inserted in the bone, to investigate the blood supply. After some time, when he tried to remove the chamber, Brånemark found it impossible because the chamber was integrated to the bone. It was thus evident that the integration between this metal and bone occurred perfectly, and there was no rejection [3]. The concept of osseointegration was then defined as the direct structural and functional connection between ordered, living bone and the surface of a loadcarrying implant. [4] Brånemark’s next step was to apply his discovery to oral rehabilitation, using titanium to built dental implants. Since then it was noticed that the clinical success of the implantology is directly related to the occurrence of the phenomenon of osseointegration and the type of material used [3].