Chemical and biological functionalization of titanium for dental implants

Dental implant materials serve a variety of purposes. The majority of them are used as intraosseous appliances in the jaw bones for permanent anchorage of tissue integrated prostheses. Successful clinical use of these materials is based on the integration into the adjacent bone tissue. Compromised bone conditions and periimplant bone defects can impair this interaction and require enhancement of osteogenesis to accomplish the desired level of bone implant contact. Established techniques use modifications of surface morphology and inorganic surface chemistry. Advanced strategies focus on the anchorage of bone matrix components to the material surface and on the delivery of osteogenic signaling molecules to enhance periimplant bone regeneration. Biologically active components are immobilized through a variety of procedures such as adsorption, covalent coupling, electrochemical surface modifications and self organized organic layers on the implant surface.