Histologic and immunohistochemical description of early healing at marginal defects around implants

This study reports on the histologic characteristics of the early phases of implant osseointegration, focusing on osteopontin concentrations in the coronal area of implants placed with marginal defects and in control sites without defect preparation. In the mandibular right area of 12 dogs, two recipient sites were prepared and the margins were widened to obtain a gap of 0.5 mm at one site (small defect) and 1.25 mm at another site (large defect). Implants were placed and allowed a fully submerged healing. The procedure was subsequently performed in the left side in such a way as to obtain healing times of 5, 10, 20, and 30 days. Paraffin sections were stained with osteopontin antibodies and analyzed. At control implants, scarcely organized collagen fibers were observed in the space between the pristine bone and implant and were quickly replaced by mineralized tissue. In the small and large defects, the collagen fibers were organized in a layer that ran parallel to the implant at day 10 and became denser and thicker with time. Osteopontin was evenly distributed in the peri-implant tissue at control implants, while it was mainly located in the collagen bundle section around the implants placed in the defects.