Effects of ibuprofen-loaded TiO2 nanotube dental implants in alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits

Purpose: Some systemic conditions, especially diabetes mellitus (DM), adversely affect dental implant success. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ibuprofen-loaded TiO2 nanotube (ILTN) dental implants in alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits. Methods: Twenty-six New Zealand white rabbits were treated with alloxan monohydrate to induce DM. At 2 weeks following DM induction, 3 types of implants (sandblasted, large-grit, and acid-etched [SLA], ILTN, and machined) were placed into the proximal tibia in the 10 rabbits that survived following DM induction. Each type of implant was fitted randomly in 1 of the holes (round-robin method). The animals were administered alizarin (at 3 weeks) and calcein (at 6 weeks) as fluorescent bone markers, and were sacrificed at 8 weeks for radiographic and histomorphometric analyses. Results: TiO2 nanotube arrays of similar to 70 nm in diameter and-17 mu m in thickness were obtained, and ibuprofen was loaded into the TiO2 nanotube arrays. A total of 26 rabbits were treated with alloxan monohydrate and only 10 rabbits survived. The 10 surviving rabbits showed a blood glucose level of 300 mg/dL or higher, and the implants were placed in these diabetic rabbits. The implant stability quotient (ISQ) and bone-to-implant contact (BIC) values were significantly higher in the ILTN group (ISQ: 61.8, BIC: 41.3%) and SLA group (ISQ: 62.6, BIC: 46.3%) than in the machined group (ISQ: 53.4, BIC: 20.2%), but the difference in the BIC percentage between the SLA and ILTN groups was not statistically significant (P=0.628). However, the bone area percentage was significantly higher in the ILTN group (78.0%) than in the SLA group (52.1%; P=0.000). Conclusions: The: ILTN dental implants showed better stability (ISQ) and BIC than the machined implants; however, these values were similar to the commercially used SLA implants in the 2-week diabetic rabbit model.

Automated summary

The study investigated the effects of ibuprofen-loaded TiO2 nanotube dental implants in alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits. Results showed that the ILTN implants demonstrated better stability and bone-to-implant contact compared to machined implants in the diabetic rabbit model. The ILTN implants also showed similar performance to the commercially used SLA implants in terms of stability and bone area percentage.