Objective
In the last two decades, the success rate of dental
implants has been greatly enhanced by the use of
materials, among which titanium, allowing a high degree
of osseointegration. However, further improvements must
be achieved in the transgingival zone, that is in the
upper zone of the implant in contact with the oral soft
tissues. This region is determinant for the perimucosal
seal, which must prevent infection of soft and hard
tissues around the implant It has been stated that the
implant success possibly depends on the seal efficiency.
Whereas titanium shows an excellent behaviour in the bone
region, a smooth ceramic surface can provide a better
soft tissue implant contact. It also decreases the rate
of plaque build up and facilitates personal and
professional hygiene procedures for plaque removal.
Another advantage of ceramic materials is the possibility
to produce them in a colour close to that of natural
teeth. This greatly improves implant aesthetics,
particularly in the case of gingival retraction commonly
associated with dental implants.
An improved dental implant could therefore be obtained by
the combination of titanium and ceramic materials
(titanium in the bone region, ceramic in the
transgingival zone). It is proposed to achieve this
combination by coating a ceramic layer locally on the
transgingival area of the titanium implant. The objective
of this project is to develop ceramic coatings on
titanium implants by means of three different
technologies (plasma spraying, PACVD and RF magnetron
sputtering) and to assess the technical and biological
performance of these coatings. Development of the
deposition of ZrO2 and A1203 ceramics on titanium
implants will be run simultaneously by the 3 coating
partners. Deposition parameters will be optimised, so
that the coating properties (including adherence,
thickness, dimensional precision, colour, opacity,
roughness, resistance to fatigue and ageing) correspond
to specifications for dental implants. Physical
characterisation tests will be run at the coating
partners'. Coating biocompatibility will also be assessed
during in vitro and in vivo tests. At the end of the
project, it is expected that at least one prototype of
the ceramic coated dental implant will be ready for
restricted production intended for clinical trials
(implantation in voluntary humans, out of the scope of
this project), at the end of which final market release
can be given. Besides, industrial spin offs are expected
by the coating companies which intend to apply the
technological know how developed during this project in
other industrial fields not related to dental
applications. All 5 industrial partners are SMEs.
Fields of science
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineodontologydental implantology
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metals
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcoating and films
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologyimplants
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringceramics
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
79111 Freiburg
Germany