Evaluating osteointegration of implants with low insertion torque in soft bone.

Achieving primary stability in low-density bone is a major challenge in implant dentistry, with high insertion torque (HIT) causing bone micro damage. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate osteointegration of implants placed with low insertion torque (LIT, 15-25 Ncm) versus HIT (35-45 Ncm) in sheep femoral condyles. At 12 weeks, bone-to-implant contact (58.3% vs. 62.1%, p=0.18) and bone volume fraction (35.4% vs. 38.2%, p=0.22) were comparable between groups. Initial implant stability was lower with LIT but equalized with HIT at 12 weeks. Thus, LIT implants achieved similar osteointegration to HIT, supporting their use to reduce surgical trauma in soft bone.