Objectives: Currently, dental implants are an established therapy for oral rehabilitation. Success rates up to 92% after ten years were achieved in healthy bone. However, these success rates decrease in compromised bone sites, e.g. osteoporotic bone. Coating of dental implants with components of the extracellular matrix is one approach to enhance osseointegration in spongious bone.

Material and methods : Dental titanium implants were coated with two different modifications of sulphated hyaluronan (Hya4 and Hya6) and compared to commercial pure titanium implants (control). After extraction of the premolar teeth, 36 implants were inserted into the maxilla of 6 miniature pigs (6 implants per maxilla). The healing periods were four and eight weeks, respectively. After sacrifice of the animals, longitudinal sections of each implant were manufactured according to Donath’s sawing and grinding technique. The samples were evaluated histomorphologically and histomorphometrically.

Results: All implant coatings showed a sufficient osseointgration after four and eight weeks. Inflammatory or foreign body reactions could not be observed. After four weeks of healing, implants coated with Hya4 showed the highest bone implant contact (Hya4: 45.4%; Hya6: 42.2%; control: 42.3%). After eight weeks, a decrease of bone implant contact could be observed for Hya4 and controls (Hya4: 37.3%; control: 31.7%). For implants coated with Hya6, bone implant contact increased (Hya6: 50.8%).

Conclusion: In the limits of the current study, coating with hyaluronan increased bone implant contact on dental implants in spongious bone compared to controls in the early healing period.