SLActive a new standard in implant dentistry?
Last week Straumann provided a research update on its third-generation dental implant surface technology, SLActive. According to Straumann, as the first chemically-active dental implant surface, SLActive accelerates the osseointegration process, enhances predictability in every indication, and reduces healing times, from 6 weeks to 3 weeks.
Studies you ask? The company commented in their latest press release:
"In all, more than 14 studies on SLActive have been initiated, with particular focus on the initial healing processes. These add to the existing body of scientific data on SLA that supports the new surface.
The development program and distinct clinical benefits of SLActive were also reviewed at the AO. The new surface has shown outstanding clinical results and predictability. For example, in the multicenter clinical trial initiated in 2004 and involving 19 centers worldwide, more than 400 SLActive dental implants have been placed with a survival rate of 98%. This is remarkable in view of the extremely challenging treatment protocols involving immediate function/loading (211 dental implants) or early loading (190 dental implants).
To add further to the body of peer-reviewed published scientific evidence supporting SLActive, the results of a significant preclinical trial are in the process of being accepted for publication in a leading peer-reviewed journal. The findings demonstrate that osseointegration occurred up to twice as fast with the SLActive surface by comparison with the current gold-standard SLA surface. "
These are pretty hefty claims. Does anybody have any experiences to share with SLActive to shed some light on these results? Is this new dental implant surface technology truly going to set a new standard in implant dentistry?
