Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the sensory mechanism in jaws that have received dental implants. These cases of course have no periodontal membrane. Withthe von Frey feather stimulation technique we measured tactile sensibility of 6 subjects with 9 endosseous implants and compared results with those obtained from the remaining natural teeth in these patients and natural teeth in corresponding locations in other patients. We also measured the tactile sensibility in patients with implants after infiltration of anesthesia at the mucous membrane surrounding implant and at the bone surrounding implant.
1. Minimum tactile sensibility in endosseous implant patients was 54.0g axially and 17.6g bucco-lingually. Maximum tactile sensibility was 119.9g. These measurements were much higher in both directions than the results from any of the measurements of natural teeth.
2. When anesthesia.was injected at the mucous membrane at the necks of the implants the results obtained were nearly unchanged from the unanesthetised implants, but with bone anesthetised, the tactile sensibility of the patients with implants incresed in all cases.
These results suggest that mechanorceptors in the tissues surrounding the endosseous impalnts are associated with the determination of tactile forces.
