Establishment of standardized intraoral implant model in the rabbit edentulous diastema

Abstract

Rabbits have been valued for decades as a model for osseointegration research and biomaterial evaluation, owing to the practical handling, ethical acceptance, and cost-effectiveness. The rabbit model provides an optimal compromise between clinical translatability and practical experimental viability when compared to both large-animal and rodent alternatives. However, rabbit models face inconsistencies across implant site selection criteria, implant geometric configurations, and operative techniques, underscoring the urgent need for standardized experimental frameworks to improve cross-study comparability. The edentulous diastema in rabbit mandible-an anatomical edentulous zone between incisors and premolars-is recognized as a promising intraoral site for implant placement due to its enhanced trabecular bone density and superior volumetric capacity. In contrast to commonly used extragnathic sites (e.g., tibia, femur), which lack a relevant oral microenvironment, the mandibular diastema offers both close anatomical analogy to the human jaw and straightforward surgical access. Herein, we identified an anatomically optimal implant site in rabbit mandibular edentulous diastema utilizing micro-CT-based quantitative analyses and designed a customized implant according to the measured value. Subsequently, we developed a standardized operative workflow for implant placement, and evaluated the osseointegration following 4 weeks and 12 weeks of implantation. Furthermore, we confirmed the applicability of the standardized rabbit intraoral implant model for peri-implantitis modeling. Collectively, we established a workflow for standardizing an intraoral implant model in the edentulous diastema of rabbits which provide highly reproducible, economical, and effective platform for fundamental inquiries into osseointegration, the evaluation of novel implant surface coatings, and the initial screening of biomaterials.