The hydroxylapatite–bone interface: 10 years after implant installation

Reconstruction of a severely atrophied maxilla by sinus augmentation with a mixture of hydroxylapatite (HA) granules and autologous cancellous bone is claimed to be a predictable means to facilitate implant placement. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first human histological case report of plasma-sprayed HA-coated implants being loaded after sinus augmentation was performed with a mixture of HA granules and autologous bone. A patient gave consent for post-mortem analysis of his upper jaw, Ten years after successful reconstruction of his maxilla and functional implant loading, the region of augmentation showed stable contours both radiographically and histologically. In 10 years, the granules had only minimally degraded. HA granules outlined the grafted area to protect it against resorption. The plasma-sprayed HA coating on the dental implant was intact, showing 48% contact with the surrounding bone.