effect of pamidronate and calcium on implant osseointegration in ovariectomized rats

Introduction: supplementation with minerals like calcium has been shown to be effective in preventing bone loss and increasing bone density. thus, it can be assumed that if calcium supplementation is paired with bisphosphonates, greater benefit can be achieved. in this context, we decided to perform this animal study on ovariectomized rats to assess whether bisphosphonate supplemented with calcium can improve implant osseointegration compared to bisphosphonate and calcium alone. materials and methods: in this animal study, 40 ovariectomized rats were divided into 4 groups prior to implant insertion. the first group received 5 mg/kg intramuscular calcium gluconate 3 times per week for 4 weeks. the second group received 5 mg/kg intramuscular pamidronate 3 times per week for 4 weeks. the third group was administrated a combination of both intramuscular calcium gluconate and pamidronate. the control group received no medication. the rats were sacrificed and the contact surface ratio (csr) was evaluated 8 weeks after implant insertion in tibial bone. result: the pamidronate receiving group had significantly better csr than the ca receiving and control groups (p < 0.001). intravenous calcium did not improve csr compared to the control group (p = 0.459). conclusion: short-term preoperative intravenous pamidronate can significantly improve bone to implant contact in post-menopausal animal models, whereas calcium supplementation has no beneficial effect.