## 1 Introduction  
Sandblasting is a mechanical process carried out by spraying various-sized particles of controlled known hardness at constant pressure and speed rate (changeable at will) onto the surface of a certain material in order to clean and/or modify its surface roughness [1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7]. The importance of sandblasting resides in its inherent properties and the envisaged outcome: enhanced surface roughness and increased surface area, essential for mechanical interlocking between the implant and the abutment in the case of restorative dentistry, thorough surface cleanliness, increased wettability, and effective mechanical retention [1; 2; 5; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15]. The recent trend in dental implant and abutment research is focused on the effect of implant surface functionalization as a means to increase success chances. Some researchers concentrated on sandblasting as a preconditioning phase in the modification of the surface of dental implants and abutments to increase osseointegration and biofilm adhesion to them [1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 15; 16; 17; 18]. This comes as a direct result of addressing one of the main concerns of the scientific community related to the limitation of the risks associated with implant rejections and the development of peri-implantitis (a pathological condition occurring in tissues around the dental implants, characterized by inflammation in the peri-implant connective tissue and progressive loss of supporting bone) [1; 2; 3; 4; 15; 16; 17; 18]. As the challenge for researchers is to develop new technologies or materials with the necessary properties for osseointegration while simultaneously guaranteeing a reduced accumulation of bacteria in the vicinity of the abutment/implant [5], the use of titanium and its alloys as the main material for this appears to be well justified. The techniques developed for surface modification are due to the Ti inherent properties to oxidize naturally to a stable oxide layer of a few nm, thus preventing corrosion and avoiding the associated inflammatory processes, resulting in a positive impact on osseointegration, durability, and wear of invasive or non-invasive dental restorations [5; 15; 16; 18]. Any change in the appearance of the material surface can lead to cell adhesion and multiplication, morphology proliferation, and differentiation of the cells interacting with the implants at the implant/tissue interface, so that obtaining an optimal surface roughness of the implants facilitates osseointegration and cell adhesion from an early stage and determines the viability of the implant [6]. The material surface in the discussion may be processed using various methods (e.g., polishing, sandblasting, and acid etching) in order to obtain a certain desired roughness morphology that would lead to the improvement of the bioactivity of the surface [1; 2; 4; 5; 16; 17; 18]. The sandblasting technology is influenced by the type of abrasive material, the shape and size of the grains, the conditions set forth for the deposited material layer, and the process parameters [5; 6; 7]. The sandblasting process involves the projection of irregular abrasive particles (Al\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{3}\), either naturally occurring or synthetically produced) on the substrate surface at very high speeds. After sandblasting, the surfaces are blown with a jet of dry and clean air to remove any particles of dust and traces of the material, degreased, and rinsed again, as the impeccable cleaning of the materials after sandblasting is vital for the viability of the dental implant. The most commonly used material for sandblasting titanium implants and abutments is Al\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{3}\), either naturally occurring or synthetically produced [8]. The surface of most implants used in oral implantology is normally microtextured, obtained by sandblasting and subsequent processing using acids, resulting in uniformly distributed microgaps at the implant/abutment interface [9; 10; 11; 12].