It has been reported that bioactive glass-ceramics containing crystalline oxy- and fluoroapatite [Ca10(PO4)6(O,F2) and wollastonite (CaSiO3), chemical composition: MgO 4.6, CaO 44.9, SiO2 34.2, P2O5 16.3, CaF2 0.5 in weight ratio] bond to bone tissue through the formation of an apatite (a calcium and phosphorus-rich layer) on the ceramic surface. In this study, the influence of disodium (1-hydroxythylidene) diphosphonate (DHTD) on the bonding between bone and glass-ceramics containing apatite and wollastonite was investigated. Rectangular ceramic plates (15 mm x 10 mm x 2 mm, abraded with #2000 alumina powder) were implanted into the tibial bone of mature male rabbits. DHTD was administered daily by subcutaneous injection to groups 1-5: group 1-4 at doses of 20, 5.0, 1.0, and 0.1 mg/kg body wt/day for 8 weeks; and group 5 at a dose of 5 mg/kg body wt/day for 4 weeks. Group 6 was given injections of saline as a control. At 8 weeks after implantation, the rabbits were killed. The tibiae containing the ceramics were dissected out and used for a detachment test. The failure load, when an implant became detached from the bone, or when the bone itself broke, was measured. The failure loads for groups 1-6 were 0 kg, 0 kg, 8.08 +/- 2.43 kg, 7.28 +/- 2.07 kg, 5.56 +/- 1.63 kg, and 6.38 +/- 1.30 kg, respectively. Ceramic bonding to bone tissue was inhibited by a higher dose of DHTD (groups 1 and 2).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)