Our aim was to find out whether simplified drilling protocols would provide biological responses comparable to those of conventional drilling protocols at the low rotational speed of 400 rpm. Seventy-eight root form endosseous implants with diameters of 3.75, 4.2, and 5 mm were placed into canine tibias and allowed to heal for 3 and 5 weeks. After the dogs had been killed, the samples of implanted bone were retrieved and processed for non-decalcified histological sectioning. Bone-to-implant contact (BIC) and bone area fraction occupancy (BAFO) analyses were made on the histological sections. Implants treated by the simplified protocol resulted in BIC and BAFO values comparable to those obtained with the conventional drilling protocol, and there were no significant differences in the technique or diameter of the drilling. The results suggest that the simplified procedure gives biological outcomes comparable to those of the conventional procedure. (C) 2015 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.