Study: Optimizing Nano-surface of Dental Implants May Shorten Healing Time
BY MATTHEW JAFFE, JUNE 27, 2011
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg published a dissertation affirming the bone-healing capacity of roughened titanium while developing a new model to evaluate the healing potential of implants on the nano-scale.
The researched focused on factors that increase healing time. For example, the implant being screwed into the bone exerts force; this biomechanical stimulation facilities the formation of new bone. Roughening the device created a larger surface area for the bone forming-materials to deposit. What's new is that Gothenburg's Johanna Löberg reviewed the topography from a micrometre to nanometre scale and developed a model to estimate how well the implant will anchor based on different surface topographies (see photos below). She concluded that surfaces with a well-defined nanostructure facilitated a stronger bone-to-implant bond and faster healing.
In addition to looking at the biomechanics and topography of the titanium, they also experimented with the surface coating. Titanium implants have an oxide film on the surface, and the research indicated that the changes to the properties of the oxide film can affect the conductivity and cellular attachment.
Below are pictures of the implants which show varying degrees of roughness, as taken with an electron microscope. As the caption explains, the yellow plot indicates the theoretical anchorage strength.
Caption: "Scanning electron microscope images taken on the titanium samples with (from left), turned, sanded and blasted surfaces treated with oxalic acid and dilute sulfuric acid. The graph shows the different surfaces ability to form anchorage of the bone that is theoretically calculated according to model developed by Johanna Löberg PhD."
The thesis concludes, “The results obtained and presented in [the] thesis suggest that dental implants should have roughness at different length scales in combination with formation of a thin defect rich oxide.” The researchers at Gothenburg collaborated with Astra Tech AB on the study.
