Molecular biology in dental implant

ABSTRACT

Osseointegration is a result of bone formation and bone regeneration processes, which takes place at the interface between bone and implant, and it indicates a rigid fixation that can be stably maintained while functional loading is applied inside the oral cavity as well as after implant placement. Although many researches were carried out about osseointegration mechanism, but cellular and molecular events have not been clarified. With recent development of molecular biology, some researches have examined biological determinants, such as cytokine, growth factors, bone matrix proteins, during osseointegration between bone and implant surface, other researches attempted to study the ways to increase bone formation by adhering protein to implant surface or by inserting growth factors during implant placement. Cellular research on the reaction of osteoblast especially to surface morphology (e.g. increased roughness) has been carried out and found that the surface roughness of titanium implant affects the growth of osteoblast, cytokine formation and mineralization. While molecular biological research in dental implant is burgeoning. Yet, its results are insignificant . We have been studying the roles of growth factors during osseointegration, comparing different manifestations of growth factors by studying the effect of osseointegration that varied by implant surface. Of many growth factors, TGF-beta, IGF-I, BMP2, and BMP4, which plays a significant role in bone formation, were selected, and examined if these growth factors are manifested during osseointegration. The purpose of this article is to present result of our researches and encourage molecular researches in dental implant.