Osseointegration of Zirconia Implants after UV-Light or Cold Atmospheric Plasma Surface Treatment In Vivo.

Lisa Krautwald,Anders Henningsen,Aline Reitmeier,Rico Rutkowski,Ralf Smeets,Linna Guo,Martin Gosau,Carolin Stolzer

doi:10.3390/ma15020496

Abstract

The influence of UV light and non-thermal plasma on the osseointegration of yttria-stabilized zirconia implants (Y-TZP) comparing the two methods is unclear. The aim of this study was to show the influence of these methods on the osseointegration of dental zirconia implants in an animal model. A total of 54 implants were either untreated, treated with UV light (UV), or non-thermal oxygen plasma for 12 min and inserted into the parietal bones of six domestic pigs. The animals were sacrificed after a healing interval of two, four, and nine weeks. The degree of osseointegration was determined using histomorphometric determination of bone-to-implant contact values (BIC) and the bone-to-implant contact values within the retentive parts of the implants (BAFO). BIC values decreased in all groups after four weeks of healing and re-increased after nine weeks in all groups. BAFO increased significantly over time in all groups. However, there were no statistically significant differences in BIC and BAFO values between the control group and the test groups and over time. Clinical studies may follow to confirm the influence of cold plasma and UV light on the healing and survival of zirconia implants.

Highlights

Dental implants have evolved a profound method to replace missing teeth
The aim of this study was to determine the influence of UV-light and cold plasma on osseointegration of yttria-stabilized zirconia implants in vivo
This study showed that surface functionalization using cold atmospheric plasma and UV-light may be able to increase osseointegration in the crucial first period following implant placement

Summary

Introduction

Dental implants have evolved a profound method to replace missing teeth. Osseointegration, which describes the direct structural and functional contact between the human bone and the implant surface, is one key factor for long-term success and survival of dental implants [1]. At the end of this remodeling phase, usually 60–70% of the implant surface is covered by bone that can be measured histomorphometrically using the bone-to-implant contact [6]. The BIC typically ranges between 65% and 73% and does usually not reach the ideal 100% using modern implant systems [8]. Another term to assess osseointegration in vivo is bone area fraction occupancy (BAFO), which are the areas occupied by bone between the implants’ threads subtracted from the total area between the threads (“healing chambers”) reported in percentage values according to Leonard et al [9]

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