Application of growth hormone to reduce osseointegration time in dental implants

This study pretends to evaluate the beneficial effects of the treatment with growth hormone (compassive off-label use) on bone regeneration and osseointegration of dental implant surgeries in elderly people. A total of 140 patients, between 35 and 82 years of age, undergoing dental surgery, receiving a total of 402 dental implants have been investigated. Informed consent was signed by all of them. From this group, 58 patients (31 males and 27 females) received a total of 209 implants and were treated with local growth hormone in the surgical bed during the procedure, and in 29 implants of this group, when surgical beds were more extensive also with daily systemic application for one month. Another 82 patients between 35 and 82 years of age (39 males and 43 female) were also submitted to implant surgery and received a total of 193 implants without growth hormone treatment. For the evaluation of results, a simple apical radiography was used. Osseointegration was determined by bone neoformation and density between and around the implant coils. Study showed that growth hormone treatment was able to induce a statistically significant decrease in the average time between the surgical approach and osseointegration of the implant. The median value for treated patients was 82 days whereas the untreated needed a median of 140 days. No differences were observed either regarding gender or groups of age. It was concluded that in all age and gender groups the reduction of the osseointegration time was very significant when growth hormone treatment was used.