In vitro evaluation of the influence of bone cortical thickness on the primary stability of conventional- and short-sized implants

Background: The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the influence of the cortical thickness on the primary stability of short and conventional-sized implants with two types of prosthetic connection. Material and Methods: Seventy-two implants were used. These implants were placed in polyurethane blocks that simulated low-density bone tissue (type IV bone), with two bone cortical heights (type I bone): 1mm and 3mm. The implants were divided into 6 groups with 12 implants each according to the type of prosthetic connections (external-hexagon -EH and morse taper- MT) and implant sizes (conventional- 4x10mm and short 5x5mm; 5.5x5mm; 5x6mm; 5.5x6mm). Insertion torque (IT) and resonance frequency analyzes (RFA) were performed to evaluate the primary stability of the implants. Results: All implants installed in blocks with 3mm of cortical thickness showed greater IT than those installed in 1mm. The short-sized MT implants had a higher IT than conventional implants of the same connection. Short-sized EH implants showed less IT than short-sized MT implants in blocks with 3mm of cortical. In blocks with 1mm of cortical, conventional EH implants had a higher IT compared to short-sized EH implants. The conventional sized implants presented higher RFA values despite the thickness of the cortical in the blocks. Conclusions: The greater bone cortical thickness and implants size provides greater primary stability of the implants regardless the prosthetic connection.