An Alumina Toughened Zirconia Composite for Dental Implant Application:In VivoAnimal Results

Gianmario Schierano,Giulio Menicucci,Stefano Carossa,Paola Cassoni,Adele Cassenti,Federico Mussano,Mitzy Mauthe Von Degerfeld,Bruno Peirone,Carlo Manzella,Cristian Sabione,Maria Giulia Faga,Tullio Genova

doi:10.1155/2015/157360

Abstract

Ceramic materials are widely used for biomedical applications because of their remarkable biological and mechanical properties. Composites made of alumina and zirconia are particularly interesting owing to their higher toughness with respect to the monolithic materials. On this basis, the present study is focused on the in vivo behavior of alumina toughened zirconia (ATZ) dental implants treated with a hydrothermal process. A minipig model was implemented to assess the bone healing through histology and mRNA expression at different time points (8, 14, 28, and 56 days). The novel ATZ implant was compared to a titanium clinical standard. The implants were analyzed in terms of microstructure and surface roughness before in vivo tests. The most interesting result deals with a statistically significant higher digital histology index for ATZ implants with respect to titanium standard at 56 days, which is an unprecedented finding, to the authors' knowledge. Even if further investigations are needed before proposing the clinical use in humans, the tested material proved to be a promising candidate among the possible ceramic dental implants.

Highlights

Titanium implants have the longest traceable record of predictable clinical performance with very high success rate [1]; they are not without possible drawbacks [2]
Alumina and yttria stabilized zirconia (Y-TZP) ceramics are suitable for biomedical applications, due to their good mechanical and tribological properties and proved biocompatibility [9,10,11,12,13,14]
The intrabony screw shows a series of threads, similar to that observed for titanium implant, in the upper part, while some threads having a “cup profile” are present in the apical part

Summary

Introduction

Titanium implants have the longest traceable record of predictable clinical performance with very high success rate [1]; they are not without possible drawbacks [2]. As a possible alternative to titanium, ceramic materials have been already investigated and clinically used for years. Alumina and yttria stabilized zirconia (Y-TZP) ceramics are suitable for biomedical applications, due to their good mechanical and tribological properties and proved biocompatibility [9,10,11,12,13,14]. As far as TZP is concerned, it was initially employed to replace alumina in femoral heads owing to its higher fracture toughness, but the high number of failures led to reconsider its suitability in this field. Monocline phase is the most stable at room temperature, even if its mechanical properties are inferior to those of tetragonal phase, so that the latter is preferred.

Methods

Results

Conclusion