New Ceramic Multi-Unit Dental Abutments with an Antimicrobial Glassy Coating.

The choice of suitable materials and new designs in oral implantology and the subsequent enhancement of the characteristics of the dental implant developed is an important research topic with wide scope. The present work aims to develop a new multifunctional zirconia-ceria/alumina (Ce-TZP/Al2O3) composite with an antimicrobial glass-based coating to be used in multi-unit abutments compatible with commercially available Ti implants for peri-implantitis prevention. An airbrush spraying technique was effectively applied to coat the sintered ceramic composite starting from a glass powder suspension. This deposition technique was appropriate for obtaining continuous antimicrobial glass-based coatings with homogenous thickness (~35 µm) on ceramic dental implant components. The dental implant systems with the antimicrobial glassy coating were subjected to a mechanical integrity test following ISO 14801 to determine their long-term stability. The tested implant-coating structure seems to be stable under in vitro conditions with ultimate applied forces exceeding the maximum physiological occlusal loading force. This paper also presents a pilot clinical case report that shows peri-implant tissue around the mechanically stable glass coating with no signs of inflammation 1 year after implant insertion. This result is a preliminary probe of the durability and biological tolerance of the glassy material by the gingiva, as well as the antimicrobial effect on the peri-implant microbiota displayed by the coating.

Current state-of-the-art and future perspectives of the three main modern implant-dentistry concerns: Aesthetic requirements, mechanical properties, and peri-implantitis prevention.

The idea of permanent tooth replacement goes back to the year 2000 BC at least, when carved bamboo pegs were used to replace missing teeth in ancient China. The phenomenon of osseointegration, however, was not verified until the mid-1960s, when Branemark discovered that titanium could integrate to bone. Since then, the osseointegration capacity of implants has been profoundly investigated and implants as such have evolved enormously in all possible aspects, from material selection and processing to specific surface engineering, among many others. This review article, in particular, focuses on dental implants and aims to introduce the main concerns involved in modern dentistry, concentrating especially on the importance of finding an effective way to prevent peri-implantitis. In this sense, strategies such as shifting from metal to ceramic implant components and applying novel antimicrobial antibiotic-free coatings seem to be taking the lead. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2019.

Performance of a New Al2O3/Ce-TZP Ceramic Nanocomposite Dental Implant: A Pilot Study in Dogs.

Although titanium remains as the prevalent material in dental implant manufacturing new zirconia-based materials that overcome the major drawbacks of the standard 3Y-yttria partially-stabilized zirconia (Y-TZP) are now emerging. In this study, a new ceramic nanocomposite made of alumina and ceria-stabilized TZP (ZCe-A) has been used to produce dental implants with the mechanic and topographic characteristics of a pilot implant design to evaluate bone and soft tissue integration in a dog model (n = 5). Histological cross-section analysis of the implanted ceramic fixations (n = 15) showed not only perfect biocompatibility, but also a high rate of osseous integration (defined as the percentage of bone to implant contact) and soft tissue attachment. This clinical success, in combination with the superior mechanical properties achieved by this Al2O3/Ce-TZP nanocomposite, may place this material as an improved alternative of traditional 3Y-TZP dental implants.