PURPOSE: To assess osseointegration by measuring the removal torque of smooth cylindrical implants placed in rabbit tibiae, having been subjected, or not, to low-intensity laser irradiation (GaAlAs). METHODS: Two implants were inserted into one tibiae of 16 male New Zealand rabbits weighing 3.5-4.0 kg; the animals were divided into four groups (control and laser at 16 and 30 days of wound healing). In the irradiated groups, laser was applied at a 830-nm wavelength, in continuous mode and with 100 mW of potency, and the applications were punctual, with 1 J/cm³ on three points, and were repeated eight times at 48-hour intervals starting immediately after implantation surgery, thus totaling 24 J/cm². After the wounds healed, the animals were sacrificed, the tibiae were removed, implant removal torques were measured by means of a handheld digital torque-meter, and a factorial variance analysis statistical test was applied. RESULTS: There was significant intergroup difference regarding time as a single factor. The removal torque observed in the control groups was, for smooth implants, 20.42±3.06 N/cm at 16 days and 27.42±19.65 N/cm at 30 days; in the irradiated groups, the removal torque for smooth implants was 19.15±4.65 N/cm at 16 days and 30.08±4.14 N/cm at 30 days. CONCLUSION: Removal torque values were higher at 30 days than at 16 days, independent of laser application.
Laser; implants; osseointegration; removal torque
