This study evaluated the impact of rough, smooth, and very smooth Titanium (Ti) and zirconia (Zr) surfaces on the neutrophil expression of elastase (NE), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8, MMP-9 and extracellular traps (NETs). Ti and Zr disks with a diameter of 10mm and a thickness of 1.5mm were processed using diamond-impregnated polishing burs and paste to generate rough (R; Ra= > 3µm), smooth (S; Ra= ≥1 to 1.5µm) and very smooth (VS; Ra= <0.1µm) surfaces. Peripheral neutrophils from Wistar rats were cultured on these surfaces and the culture supernatants subsequently analyzed for the presence of NE, MMP-8, and MMP-9 by ELISA, while NETs formation was demonstrated immunohistochemically by staining neutrophils with CD16b and DNA with DAPI. Overall, the expression of NE and MMP-8 were significantly higher from neutrophils cultured on both on Ti and Zr rough surfaces compared to the very smooth surface (R>S>VS) after 2h and 4h of culture. The expression of MMP-9 also increased with culture time however no significant surface effects on expression were observed. Similarly, rough Ti and Zr surfaces (R & S) also showed significantly larger NETs formation compared to the very smooth surface (VS) after 4h and 8h culture. Our findings suggest that increasing surface roughness on Ti and Zr triggers higher secretion of NE, MMP-8 and NETs formation.