Effects of systemic zoledronic acid administration on osseointegration of titanium implants in osteoporotic rabbit model

Bisphosphonates are thought to have potential to improve osseointegration of implants. Zoledronic acid (ZA), new generation intravenous bisphosphonate, exhibits the greatest affinity for bone mineral with the longest retention, thereby leading to its ability to be dosed at annual intervals in treatment of osteoporosis. The purpose of this study was to observe the influence of oncely systemic administration of ZA on bone healing around titanium dental implants placed in ovariectomized rabbitsIn this study, 36 adult female New Zeland Rabbits were obtained at 6-12 months of age were used. Rabbits were assigned at random into three groups: Control group, Ovx group and a Zol group. Animals in Ovx and Zol were subjected to bilateral ovariectomy and Control group animals were sham operated. Eight weeks after the first operations, two implants were bilaterally placed in tibial bones of animals. Zoledronic acid administration in Zol group and saline infusions in Ovx and Control groups were made at the implantation time. All of the subjects were sacrified and tibial specimens were resected eight weeks after the implantation. Histomorphometric analysis, resonance frequency analysis, removal torque test and radiodensitometric analysis were made on the harvested tibial bones including implants. The data were statistically analyzedHistomorphometric, resonance frequency and radiodensitometric analyses revealed significant improvement in osseintegration of implants in Zol group compared with Ovx group. The differences between groups in removal torque test were not statistically significantResults of this study suggest that systemic zoledronic acid administration improves osseointegration of titanium implants placed in osteoporotic state of bone.