Osseointegration of Maxillary Dental Implants in Diabetes Mellitus Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial Human Histomorphometric Study

Background: Survival of dental implants in well-controlled Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) was found to be comparable to that in healthy patients. However, to our best knowledge, there have been no studies of the bone histomorphometry of osseointegration in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Purpose: To compare bone-implant-contact (BIC) and new bone formation between well-controlled Type 2 diabetes with HbA1c of less than 8% and healthy controls. Methods: 10 diabetic (T2DM) patients and 10 healthy controls were selected. Each patient received a 2.5 mm × 5 mm micro-implant in the maxilla, in either the premolar or first molar area. After 8 weeks of healing, the micro-implant was retrieved using a trephine bur and sent for bone histomorphometric analysis. A commercial titanium implant was immediately placed as the conventional treatment. Results: The mean BIC (30.73%) in T2DM patients was significantly lower than in the healthy patients (41.75%) (p = 0.01). New bone formation around the implant surface was reduced in T2DM patients (36.25%) compared to that in the control group (44.14%) (p = 0.028). The Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a strong correlation between increased HbA1c and decreased BIC (p < 0.05) and decreased new bone formation (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Within the limitation of this study, bone-to-implant contact and bone healing around dental implants in T2DM patients were significantly lower than in healthy patients.