Based on limited evidence of gene expression data from four studies involving 43 patients, the following remarks can be made:

Early peri-implant healing (2 weeks) involves a sequence of biological events which are similar to those observed in other bone wound healing scenarios (fractures, extraction-sockets).

Osseointegration depends on osteogenesis at the implant interface, but other simultaneously occurring processes such as inflammation, bone resorption, angiogenesis and neurogenesis also play an important role, as evidenced by consistent and concomitant gene expression.

Several genes associated with key regulators of biological processes, such as cells, cytokines, growth factors, transcription factors, signaling pathways, and secretory products, were shown to be differentially regulated during peri-implant healing in a manner that was largely consistent - in terms of nature and timing - with previous in vitro and preclinical in vivo histological studies of osseointegration.

Implant surface technology can influence osseointegration, at every step of the early wound healing process, i.e., anti-inflammatory response, progenitor cell recruitment, osteoinduction, growth factor/transcription factor expression, signaling pathway regulation, and extracellular matrix production. However, the relevance of those observations is questionable; no distinct differences have been demonstrated in terms of histological outcomes at later time points or short- and long-term clinical performance among the various implant surface technologies discussed herein.