Morphology and microchemistry study of three commercial dental implants

Titanium and its alloys are widely employed in commercial dental devices. Because the surface morphology and chemical composition of Ti-based dental implants play a relevant role in osseointegration, three different commercial threaded implants have been investigated by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The Implants A and C were made of pure Ti whereas the Implant B was made of Ti6Al4V alloy. Obtained results evidenced the common features and differences due to specific process parameters used in the treatments of mordanting and sandblasting for surface roughening. Implant A exhibits a uniform surface covered by very small dimples of about 1-2 mu m. The surface of Implant B is not homogeneous: The thread tops present an irregular morphology (dimples size >10 mu m) while finer dimples (about 1 mu m) are observed along the thread flanks and valleys. Implant C shows an irregular morphology with dimples of different sizes and shapes distributed on thread tops, flanks, and valleys. XPS analyses revealed the presence of metal oxides: TiO2 in all the implants; Al2O3 and V2O5 only in the implant B. Moreover, these results demonstrated that Mg2SiO4 is present on the surface of Implant A, probably due to a specific preparation process. Obtained results have been discussed on the basis of the factors promoting the osseointegration.

Automated summary

Titanium and its alloys are commonly used in commercial dental devices. This study investigated the surface morphology and chemical composition of different commercial dental implants through scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results revealed common features and differences among the implants, as well as the presence of metal oxides on their surfaces.