An Overview of Implant Stability Measurement

With Branemark’s development of implant systems in the 1960’s, dental implants have become a reliable treatment option for tooth loss [1]. One of the most important criteria for implant success is osseointegration [2]. Osseointegration is defined as the direct and functional connection between the implant and the bone surface [3]. Osseointegration also determines implant stability that is occurred in two different stages; primer and secondary stability [4]. Primer stability is related to the mechanical connection of the implant to the cortical bone. Sekonder stability is the biological stability between bone regeneration and remodeling [5]. The majority of the clinicians think that the loading should be applied after the direct relationship between the implant and the bone is obtained [6]. Mobility in implants is considered as a sign of a problem with osseointegration. For this reason, the lack of mobility and the fact that the implant-bone connection can be measured before loading is of great importance for the success of the implants in the future [7]. Although there are several methods of measuring implant stability such as radiographic analysis, insertion torque test, reverse torque tests, shear torque tests, percussion test, periotest and resonance frequency analysis [8-11], none of them provide established measurement standarts yet [12]. However, simple and non-invasive methods are recommended for measuring implant stability and osseointegration [8]. In this mini-review, all methods for dental implant stability measurement and recent developments are discussed.