A randomised clinical trial conducted at Linköping University Hospital in Sweden has shown that dental implants with a bisphosphonate nanolayer have improved stability.

After dental implant surgery, a dental implant is often not stable enough to enable chewing straight away. It may take several months for the bone around the implant to heal and become strong enough for the patient to regain chewing function.

'The study shows that local bisphosphonate improves implant stability, meaning that the time until normal chewing function could be shortened,' said Professor Per Aspenberg from Linköping University Hospital.

Professor Aspenberg is co-founder of AddBIO AB, a subsidiary of Accelerator Nordic AB, that has developed Zolidd, a proprietary bioactive nanolayer for orthopaedic and dental implants that releases bisphosphonate.

A nanometer-thin protein layer is attached to the metal surface and a bisphosphonate is attached to the protein. When the bisphosphonate is released, a local effect is obtained, which improves implant stability. In the study, a Zolidd prototype was used to release bisphosphonate in this way.

Sixteen patients each received two implants, one with bisphosphonate and one without. After six months, the bisphosphonate treated implant showed improved stability in 15 out of 16 patients. On radiographs, the treated implants showed positive effects already after two months. No complications occurred.

Zolidd is the first application from a platform technology designed for local release of drugs from medical implants.