The biocompatibility of dental implant materials measured in an animal model.

The biocompatibility of two implant materials, vitallium and poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA), was evaluated in an animal model in which bone formation and resorption are independent of each other. Neither material accelerated resorption, but formation was inhibited 12% by vitallium and 38% by PMMA. When three PMMA preparations varying in monomer content were tested, the data exhibited a dose-response relation, suggesting that inhibition of bone formation was due to the presence of residual monomer.