Dental imaging in implant treatment planning.

Objectives: Proper implant treatment planning remains the first priority for implant success. Dental imaging is an important tool to accomplish this task. Traditional radiographs provide adequate information about proposed implant sites; however, limited film size, image distortion, magnification, and a 2-D view restrict their use in some cases.

Implant surface treatment using biomimetic agents.

With an attempt at achieving faster osseointegration to hasten the overall treatment process, the use of biomimetic agents represents a growing area of research in implant dentistry. This study outlines 4 categories of bioactive agents that may be applied to coat the titanium implant surface: (1) biocompatible ceramics, (2) bioactive proteins, (3) ions, and (4) polymers, and their respective importance in the early stages of osseointegration. The potential bioactive agents investigated include bone morphogenetic proteins, growth factors, type I collagen, RGD peptide, fluoride, or chitosan, among others.