The Oxidative Response of Human Monocytes to Surface Modified Commercially Pure Titanium.

Cellular responses to implanted biomaterials are key to understanding osseointegration. The aim of this investigation was to determine the in vitro priming and activation of the respiratory burst activity of monocytes in response to surface-modified titanium. Human peripheral blood monocytes of healthy blood donors were separated, then incubated with surface-modified grade 2 commercially pure titanium (CPT) disks with a range of known surface energies and surface roughness for 30- or 60-min. Secondary stimulation by phorbol 12-myrisate 13-acetate (PMA) following the priming phase, and luminol-enhanced-chemiluminescence (LCL) was used to monitor oxygen-dependent activity. Comparison among groups was made by incubation time using one-way ANOVA. One sample from each group for each phase of the experiment was viewed under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and qualitative comparisons made. The results indicate that titanium is capable of priming peripheral blood monocytes following 60-min incubation. In contrast, 30 min incubation time lead to reduced LCL on secondary stimulation as compared to cells alone. At both time intervals, the disk with the lowest surface energy produced significantly less LCL compared to other samples. SEM examination revealed differences in surface morphology at different time points but not between differently surface-modified disks. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the titanium surface characteristics influenced the monocyte activity, which may be important in regulating the healing response to these materials.

Dental implant systems.

Among various dental materials and their successful applications, a dental implant is a good example of the integrated system of science and technology involved in multiple disciplines including surface chemistry and physics, biomechanics, from macro-scale to nano-scale manufacturing technologies and surface engineering. As many other dental materials and devices, there are crucial requirements taken upon on dental implants systems, since surface of dental implants is directly in contact with vital hard/soft tissue and is subjected to chemical as well as mechanical bio-environments. Such requirements should, at least, include biological compatibility, mechanical compatibility, and morphological compatibility to surrounding vital tissues. In this review, based on carefully selected about 500 published articles, these requirements plus MRI compatibility are firstly reviewed, followed by surface texturing methods in details. Normally dental implants are placed to lost tooth/teeth location(s) in adult patients whose skeleton and bony growth have already completed. However, there are some controversial issues for placing dental implants in growing patients. This point has been, in most of dental articles, overlooked. This review, therefore, throws a deliberate sight on this point. Concluding this review, we are proposing a novel implant system that integrates materials science and up-dated surface technology to improve dental implant systems exhibiting bio- and mechano-functionalities.

Effect of surface area ratios and bacteria on electrochemical behavior of galvanically coupled titanium.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the electrochemical behavior of commercially pure titanium (grade II) coupled with type IV gold alloy and nickel-chromium alloy at different surface area ratios in 3 different electrolytes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Titanium was coupled with gold (Ti/Au) and nickel-chromium (Ti/Ni-Cr). For each couple, 9 surface area ratios between titanium and gold or nickel-chromium were prepared. The electrolytes used were 1% lactic acid, tryptic soy broth media, and Streptococcus mutans culture supernatant. The corrosion polarization curves were obtained, and average values of corrosion potential and corrosion current density were calculated. RESULTS: Both Ti/Au and Ti/Ni-Cr were affected by surface area ratios and different electrolytes, showing the least corrosion rate when the ratio was 1:1 and when the lactic acid was used as an electrolyte. CONCLUSIONS: The greater the difference in surface area between titanium and restorative materials, the more corrosive behavior the materials show. The existence of bacteria such as S mutans may aggravate corrosive behavior between different metals.

Relationship between surface properties (roughness, wettability and morphology) of titanium and dental implant removal torque.

The biological properties of titanium depend on its surface oxide film. Several mechanical and chemical treatments have been used to modify the surface morphology and properties of titanium dental implants. One possible method of improving dental implant biocompatibility is to increase surface roughness and decrease the contact angle. In the present work, the biological properties of dental implants were investigated through in vivo and in vitro tests. The effects of surface roughness, contact angle and surface morphology on titanium dental implant removal torque were investigated. Machined dental implants and discs made with commercially pure titanium ASTM grade 4 were submitted to sandblasting treatments, acid etching and anodizing. The sample surface morphologies were characterized by SEM, the surface roughness parameters were quantified using a laser non-contact profilometer, and a contact angle measurement was taken. Dental implants were placed in the tibia of rabbits and removed 12 weeks after the surgery. It was found that: (i) acid etching homogenized the surface roughness parameters; (ii) the anodized surface presented the smallest contact angle; (iii) the in vivo test suggested that, in similar conditions, the surface treatment had a beneficial effect on the implant biocompatibility measured through removal torque; and (iv) the anodized dental implant presented the highest removal torque.

Microtensile bond strength of glass ionomer cements to artificially created carious dentin.

In this laboratory study, the microtensile bond strengths of a conventional glass ionomer cement (GIC) and a resin modified glass ionomer cement (CRMGIC) to artificially created carious dentin and sound dentin were compared, and the ultrastructural morphology of the fractured interface was examined with a low-vacuum scanning electron microscope (SEM). The specimens were divided into 4 groups: 1) a conventional GIC (Ketac-Fil Plus Aplicap) placed on sound dentin; 2) a conventional GIC placed on artificially created carious dentin; 3) an RMGIC (Photac-Fil Aplicap) placed on sound dentin and 4) an RMGIC placed on artificially created carious dentin. Artificial carious lesions were created using a chemical demineralizing solution of 0.1 M/L lactic acid and 0.2% carbopol. GIC buildups were made on the dentin surfaces according to the manufacturer's directions. After storage in distilled water at 37 degrees C for 24 hours, the teeth were sectioned vertically into 1 x 1 x 8-mm beams for the microtensile bond strength test. The microtensile bond strength of each specimen was measured, and failure mode was determined using an optical microscope (40x). The fractured surfaces were further examined with SEM. Two-way analysis of variance showed that the mean microtensile bond strengths of a GIC and an RMGIC to carious dentin were significantly lower than those to sound dentin, and the mean microtensile bond strengths of Photac-Fil to both sound and carious dentin were significantly higher than those of Ketac-Fil Plus. Chi-square tests indicated that there was a significant difference in failure mode between the sound dentin and carious dentin groups. In sound dentin groups, cohesive failure in GIC was pre- dominant; whereas, mixed failure was predominant in carious dentin groups. SEM examination showed that the specimens determined to be cohesive failures under light microscopy in the Photac-Fil/Sound Dentin group were actually mixed failures under high magnification of SEM.

The effect of fatigue damage on the force required to remove a restoration in a cement-retained implant system.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the luting agents and retentive forces before and after mechanical stressing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sample size N was 12 for each group, and 12 Cera-One closed-end gold cylinders were cemented with three types of luting cements (ImProv, UltraTemp, and TempBond). The force required to remove the gold cylinders from the abutments was determined with an MTS testing machine. After cleaning and recementing the cylinders, the samples were placed in the housings of an Alabama-type three-body wear machine and load of 110 N was applied to the gold cylinders at a frequency of 80 cycles/min for 50,000 cycles. Then each cylinder was pulled from its abutment and the force at which the failure occurred was recorded. The procedure was repeated with 300,000 cycles. RESULTS: Statistical analysis arising from two-way ANOVA found that the forces required to remove the abutments were significantly different. The most retentive cement was ImProv. Before cyclic loading, on average, ImProv produced a retentive value 85% higher than that yielded by TempBond, and 25% higher than that of UltraTemp. The three cements were significantly different at each of the three cycle levels. CONCLUSIONS: These results might suggest TempBond luting agent as the material of choice for provisional cementation because it allows easier removal of the prosthesis and maintains enough retention to prevent loosening of the restoration. The clinical implication is that the effect of cyclic load on the strength of the cements is different, an important factor in selection of a cement. ImProv had the highest retentive value before and after the two cycles, and TempBond had the lowest. UltraTemp had the highest percentage of retentive value lost. TempBond had no significant loss under loading even though initially it was the weakest.

Evaluation of the effect of water-uptake on the impedance of dental resins.

UNLABELLED: Electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) offers a quantitative method of measuring the stability of resin films in aqueous solution over time. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to measure the EIS of five experimental dental adhesive films (ca. 17 microm thick) of increasing hydrophilicity (ranked by their Hoy's solubility parameters), and how much these values change over 3 weeks in aqueous buffer. METHODS: The resin films were placed in a U-shaped chamber and a pair of Ag-AgCl electrodes was used for EIS. The EIS results were confirmed by immersing the films in 50% AgNO3 for 24 h to trace the distribution of any water absorption into the resins by TEM observations. RESULTS: The resistance (Rr) of the resins 1-4 films increased most during the first day, and varied from 1x10(11) ohm for resin 1, to 40Omega for resin 5 at day 1. The day 1 Rr values of resins 1-4 were inversely proportional to their Hoy's solubility parameter for hydrogen bonding forces. Electrical impedance values of resins 1-3 and 5 varied widely but were relatively constant over time, while those of resin 4 decreased more than 99% from day 1 to 21 (p<0.05). Capacitance (Cr) of films of resins 1-4 all increased over the first day and then were relatively unchanged over the 20 days (except for resin 4 that continued to increase) and were between 0.01 and 1 nF. Silver uptake by TEM revealed the development of water-filled branching structures that formed in resins 4 and 5 over time.

High temperature characteristics and solidification microstructures of dental metallic materials. Part III alloys for metal-bond porcelain.

The thermal expansion rate, coefficient of thermal expansion, and high temperature strength of two types of commercially available alloy for metal-bond porcelain, KIK-HII (KIK) and Degubond-J2 (J2), were evaluated up to the liquidus point temperature using a thermo-mechanical analyzer. Furthermore, microstructure in the solid-liquid coexisting region was observed for evaluation. Our results revealed the following findings: 1. For KIK, solidus point was 1,209.3 +/- 3.2 degrees C, liquidus point was 1,308.3 +/- 7.10 degrees C, and melting expansion rate was 0.41+/- 0.16%. 2. For J2, solidus point was 1,198.3 +/- 0.6 degrees C, liquidus point was 1,253.0 +/- 4.4 degrees C, and melting expansion rate was 4.50 +/- 0.80%. 3. At high temperature, the mechanical characteristics of KIK greatly differed from those of J2. The risk of causing deformation during porcelain baking was suggested for KIK. Removal of segregation during casting was considered difficult in J2.

Bond strength of resin cements to H2O2-treated titanium plates.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effects of H(2)O(2)-treatment of titanium surfaces on cement shear bond strengths, and characterized H(2)O(2)-treated titanium surfaces. METHODS: Using 34.5% hydrogen peroxide solution, cp Ti plates (10 mm x 10 mm x 1 mm) were treated by (1) an immersion method, and (2) halogen irradiation while immersed in H(2)O(2) for varying times. A cylindrical block (6 mm diameter, 4 mm height) of four different cements was bonded onto H(2)O(2)-treated surfaces. The cement bond strengths were evaluated under shear mode. Treated surfaces were also characterized for color change, wettability, AC impedance, and transmission electron diffraction of stripped oxide film. RESULTS: The cement shear bond strength of cp Ti treated with H(2)O(2) and halogen for 160 s was the highest and was approximately 14 times higher than the un-treated control cp Ti plates. Bond strengths are correlated linearly to wettability. The more surface wetted with the cement material, the higher the resultant shear bond strength value. SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that a combined treatment of hydrogen peroxide and halogen light irradiation provides an effective surface condition with appropriate oxide film thickness to enhance the cement bond strength.

High temperature characteristics and solidification microstructures of dental metallic materials. Part II. ADAS Type 3 gold alloy.

Previously, high temperature properties of the silver-palladium-copper-gold alloy were investigated. In this study, the thermal expansion percentage and coefficient, and high temperature strengths of ADAS Type 3 gold alloy were investigated up to the liquidus temperature. Furthermore, microstructural and compositional changes in the solid/liquid dual phase were studied. The following conclusions were obtained. (1) The solidus point of the Type 3 gold alloy was 899.3+/-11.7 degrees C, and the liquidus point was 962.3+/-2.4 degrees C. (2) The thermal expansion percentage at the solidus point was 1.636+/-0.046%, while it was 4.853+/-0.213% for the liquidus point. The thermal expansion percentage of the melt was 3.217+/-0.257%. (3) The melt expansion was observed even under the measuring pressure of 373.75 HPa, which was quite different from the fact that the melt expansion disappeared at the pressure of 20.87 HPa for the silver-palladium-copper-gold alloy. (4) The morphology of solid phase in the solid/liquid dual zone of this alloy was quite different from those observed with the silver-palladium-copper-gold alloy.

Effects of repeated baking on the mechanical and physical properties of metal-ceramic systems.

This study evaluates effects of repeated baking processes on the mechanical and physical properties of single and triple applications of opaque, body and enamel porcelains fused to three different metal substrates (precious metal, semi-precious metal and non-precious metal). The vintage halo porcelain system was employed and fused to metals. Fused samples were subjected to three-point bend tests to evaluate bend strength and modulus of elasticity. It was found that, by increasing repeated baking cycles, (1) body and enamel porcelains increased bend strengths but opaque porcelain did not show any changes, (2) all triple-layered porcelains fired to metals increased bend strengths, and (3) all three porcelains and metal substrates did not exhibit changes in thermal expansion percentage. It was concluded that repeating baking procedures up to 10 cycles did not exhibit any adverse effects on the final properties of porcelain-fired to metals, rather it was noticed that mechanical strengths increased by increasing cycles.

High temperature characteristics and solidification microstructures of dental metallic materials part I: silver-palladium-copper-gold alloy.

Ag-Pd-Cu-Au alloy was subjected to a Thermo-Mechanical Analyzer to investigate high temperature properties up to its liquidus temperature. Microstructural examination and elemental analysis with EPMA were also conducted in the solid/liquid mixture region. The following conclusions were obtained. (1) The solidus temperature was 838.3 +/- 2.52 degrees C and 957.7 +/- 1.53 degrees C for the liquidus point. (2) Thermal expansion coefficients were 1.39 +/- 0.08% at the solidus, 2.338 +/- 0.13% at the liquidus, and the melting expansion coefficient was 0.932 +/- 0.058%. (3) The expansion during melting was controlled by a small amount of pressure such as 1/100 of the air pressure, therefore the fit accuracy of castings is suggested not to be influenced by the solidification shrinkage. (4) Although the softening heat treatment and casting exhibited an influence on thermal expansion behavior, casting temperature in addition to post-casting plastic deformation did not show an effect on the thermal expansion. (5) The yield strength at 750 degrees C was reduced down to about 1/400 of that at room temperature, and the modulus of elasticity was about 1/100 of the room temperature value.

Three different methods to evaluate microleakage of packable composites in Class II restorations.

This in vitro study compared three different methods to evaluate detectable levels of microleakage in Class II restorations placed with five commercially available packable resin composites: Alert, Glacier, Pyramid, Solitaire 2 and SureFil. A flowable resin composite, Flow-It, was used to line all packable composites. The hybrid resin composite Z100 was also included. The adhesive system used with all groups was Scotchbond MultiPurpose Plus. Standard Class II cavities were prepared on the mesial (enamel margins) and distal (dentin margins) sides of the teeth with no communication between them. Based on a power analysis, 180 permanent human molars were randomly assign to each of six groups with 30 specimens per group. All restorative materials were placed following manufacturers' recommendations. Following restoration and thermocycling, the specimens were stored at room temperature in solutions of 45Ca, methylene blue and rhodamine B, sequentially. Microleakage was ordinal scored as 1 (no penetration), 2 (penetration up to one-third of the cervical floor), 3 (penetration beyond one-third of the cervical floor to the axial wall) and 4 (penetration along the axial wall) by two independent evaluators. Analysis of the occlusal surfaces was also accomplished following the same scheme. In this study, tracers/dyes were evaluated for differences in penetration using generalized estimating equation methodology applied to cumulative logistic regression models. The results showed that Rhodamine B detected more microleakage than 45Ca or methylene blue, and 45Ca generally detected more microleakage than methylene blue.

Cement bond strengths of titanium plates.

The success of the oral rehabilitation of implant patients depends not only on the osseointegration of implant fixtures but also on maintaining the integrity of the connection of prosthetic superstructures to these fixtures. It was an objective of the present study to evaluate and compare cement bond strengths among rolled (R), cast (C) and metal-injection-molded (M) commercially pure titanium plates which were bonded with Panavia 21 (Kuraray) and Imperva (Shofu) cements. Two plates (15x5x1 mm) of each R, C, and M were lap-jointed (lap length: 5 mm). The joints were stored in 37 degrees C distilled water for 24 h, followed by tensile tests with an INSTRON system under 1 mm/min crosshead speed. It was found that the bond strength of R with Panavia 21 (PAN) was 5.31 (SD:1.5) MPa and 2.30 (0.83) MPa with Imperva (IMP) cement. These were improved by applying an alloy primer to 7.08 (1.31) MPa and 6.72 (1.63) MPa, respectively. Using PAN with primer application, C and M samples showed bond strengths of 7.99 (1.31) and 7.20 (2.50) MPa, while they were 5.83 (2.15) and 6.79 (2.09) MPa using IMP with primer. There was a significant difference (p<0.01) between PAN and IMP cements for C samples. Additionally, samples were pre-oxidized at 100 degrees C in air for 10 min. Bond strengths of PAN with the primer were 5.69 (2.25), 9.14 (1.28), and 5.60 (3.13) MPa for R, C, and M sample groups. If the cement with the primer was applied immediately after the polishing (instead of pre-oxidized surfaces), bond strengths were improved to 9.14 (1.78) for R, 9.29 (1.85) for C, and 9.36 (1.81) MPa for M sample group. At p<0.05 level, there was a significant difference between surface pre-condition of R and M, but no significance with C.

Electrochemical study on microbiology-related corrosion of metallic dental materials.

Microbiology-related corrosion has been noted in industry for many years. It is widely recognized that microorganisms affect the corrosion of metal and alloys immersed in aqueous environments. Under similar conditions, the effect of bacteria in the oral environment on the corrosion of dental metallic materials remains unknown. The purpose of this study is to investigate the corrosion behavior of dental metallic materials in the presence of Streptococcus mutans and its growth byproducts. Samples were commercially pure titanium (CPT), Ti-6Al-4V (TAV), Ti-Ni (TN), Co-Cr-Mo alloy (CCM), 316L stainless steel (SSL), 17Cr-4Ni PH-type stainless steel (PH), and Ni-Cr alloy (NC). Using Gamry corrosion test system, surfaces were exposed to (1) sterilized Ringer's solution as a control for (2), (2) S. mutans mixed with sterilized Ringer's solution; (3) sterilized tryptic soy broth as a control for (4), and (4) byproducts of S. mutans mixed with sterilized tryptic soy broth. Corrosion parameters (EOCP, ECORR, ICORR, etc.) were corrected for all tested samples. Averaged values of these parameters were statistically analyzed by t-test to identify significant differences. It was concluded that (1) S. mutans reduced the EOCP of CPT, TAV, TN, and SSL, and the byproducts of S. mutans reduced the EOCP of TAV, TN, SSL, and PH. (2) S. mutans increased the ICORR of PH, and byproducts of S. mutans increased the ICORR of all the samples. (3) S. mutans reduced the ECORR of CPT, TAV and TN, and the byproducts of S. mutans reduced the ECORR of TN, SSL, PH, and NC. (4) S. mutans increased the IPASS of CPT, and the byproducts of S. mutans increased the IPASS of CPT, PH, and NC.

A close-up look at an implant fracture: a case report.

The authors report on the fracture of a standard endosseous dental implant 11 years after placement. It had been connected to a natural tooth using a nonrigid connector to compensate for the lack of a built-in antirotational system on the prosthetic abutment of the implant restoration. Scanning electron microscopy revealed striations on the fracture surface, suggesting a fatigue-associated failure.

Effect of wax melting range and investment liquid concentration on the accuracy of a three-quarter crown casting.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Dental casting accuracy is influenced by the setting expansion of investment materials. Although setting expansion can help compensate for casting shrinkage, it cannot be fully realized under a confined wax pattern. Exactly how soft a wax pattern should be to ensure optimum setting expansion has not been determined. PURPOSE: In this study, the relationship between wax characteristics and the casting accuracy of a three-quarter crown was investigated. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Four different wax materials were used: paraffin 135 with a softening temperature of 37.5 degrees C (P38), paraffin 1080 with a softening temperature of 63.5 degrees C, Shofu Red with a softening temperature of 41.5 degrees C, and Shofu Hard with a softening temperature of 51 degrees C. Two mixtures of phosphate-bonded investment were prepared: one with 100% special liquid and another with 75% special liquid plus 25% distilled water. For both, the liquid/powder ratio was 16:100. A type IV gold alloy was cast into a three-quarter crown mold. The discrepancy at 6 locations (1 lingual, 1 mesial, 1 distal, and 3 facial) was measured with a traveling microscope. Five readings were collected. Means and standard deviations were calculated for all data. A 2-way analysis of variance followed by the Student-Newman-Keuls test for multiple comparisons was used to identify significant differences between groups at the 95% confidence level. RESULTS: For the gingival measurement sites (lingual, mesial, and distal), there was no significant difference in cast adaptation when Shofu Hard and paraffin 1080 waxes were used. However, the results with these 2 waxes were different than with Shofu Red and P38. For the 3 facial measurement sites, significantly different measurements were found for each wax; P38 demonstrated the best results. Casting shrinkage was smaller with the use of 100% special liquid. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this study, casting shrinkage was affected by the type of wax used and was sensitive to the site at which dimensional measurements were performed. The higher the softening temperature, the larger the casting shrinkage.