Thresholds for tactile sensitivity perceived with dental implants remain unchanged during a healing phase of 3 months.

The aim of the present study was to determine the tactile pressure thresholds perceived with dental implants during a three-month healing phase following implant placement (osseointegration phase). The absolute threshold of tactile perception was measured in a group of patients 1 week, 1, 2 and 3 months following implant placement (ITI Dental Implant System, Straumann AG, Waldenburg, Switzerland). Contralateral and neighbouring teeth were measured at the same time. For determination of the axial forces exerted on the implants and teeth, and electronic device with semi-conductor strain gauges was used (Hämmerle et al. 1995). The results demonstrated mean thresholds of tactile perception for the implants of 160.2 g (SD 61.7 g, range 77 approximately 283 g) at 1 week, 133.4 g (SD 51.9 g, range 32 approximately 239 g) at 1 month, 147.9 g (SD 53.5 g, range 70 approximately 257 g) at 2 months, and 146.9 g (SD 57.4 g, range 77 approximately 248 g) at 3 months. Statistical analysis using Student's paired t-test revealed no significant differences between the values over time. The control teeth exhibited mean values for tactile perception of 13.1 g (SD 9.6 g, range 5 approximately 47 g) at 1 week, 10.2 g (SD 6.4 g, range 4 approximately 29 g) at 1 month, 14.8 g (SD 15.9 g, range 2 approximately 58 g) at 2 months, and 15.4 g (SD 12.2 g, range 3 approximately 36 g) at 3 months. Again, these values did not differ significantly from each other and indicated the absence of systemic alterations in perceived pressure threshold over the observation period. The mean perceived pressure threshold was more than 10 times higher for implants than for natural teeth (P < 0.001) at all observation times. It is concluded that the absolute threshold of tactile perception with dental implants during the phase of osseointegration is not affected by bone and soft tissue healing taking place during the time period.