Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Conditions such as diabetes and hyperlipidemia, as well as unhealthy habits such as smoking, are known to impair wound healing. Recent studies found that greater surface wettability accelerates osseointegration and increases the bone-to-implant contact ratio. In light of this, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential correlation between impaired healing status and changes in implant surface wettability. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 18 dental implants from various systems. Blood samples were collected from 40 voluntary participants divided into four groups. RESULTS: When comparing the blood of smokers and healthy people, the biggest difference was shown by Avinent, BTI UniCa, and Nobel TiUltra, where more blood was absorbed by the implants immersed in the smoker's blood. Also, some implants have shown reverse results, but the difference was smaller. When testing the blood of diabetics, there were many different results; some implants showed that they absorbed more blood when immersed in the blood of diabetics, and some in the blood of healthy people. When testing the blood of hyperlipidemic patients, it is interesting that all tested implants absorbed more blood from hyperlipidemics than blood from healthy people, except for Nobel TiUltra, where the result was reverse, but the difference was very small. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that blood from these patient groups can significantly alter the hydrophilicity of implant surfaces compared to blood from healthy individuals. In vivo research is needed to determine the clinical significance of this finding.