Dental implants from functionally graded materials

Abstract

Functionally graded material (FGM) is a heterogeneous composite material including a number of constituents that exhibit a compositional gradient from one surface of the material to the other subsequently, resulting in a material with continuously varying properties in the thickness direction. FGMs are gaining attention for biomedical applications, especially for implants, owing to their reported superior composition. Dental implants can be functionally graded to create an optimized mechanical behavior and achieve the intended biocompatibility and osseointegration improvement. This review presents a comprehensive summary of biomaterials and manufacturing techniques researchers employ throughout the world. Generally, FGM and FGM porous biomaterials are more difficult to fabricate than uniform or homogenous biomaterials. Therefore, our discussion is intended to give the readers about successful and obstacles fabrication of FGM and porous FGM in dental implants that will bring state-of-the-art technology to the bedside and develop quality of life and present standards of care.

Current trends in dental implants

“…As described by Mehrali et al78 in 2013, the suitable design of porous bone with a porosity gradient from a dense, stiff external structure (the cortical bone) to a porous internal one (the cancellous bone), and with an adequate degree of interconnectivity exhibits that functional gradation is applied by biological adaptation. Therefore, functionally graded materials (FGMs) are gaining attention in dental implant applications.…”

Simultaneous mechanical property and biodegradation improvement of wollastonite bioceramic through magnesium dilute doping

“…However, the slightly faster degradation rate which mismatches with the bone tissue regeneration during the new bone ingrowth (Xu et al, 2008), especially, the relatively low fracture strength and toughness which fails to meet the specific mechanical requirement in thin-wall bone defects constrains its clinical applications (Bratton and Durairaj, 2011). To reinforce the structure and to enhance the mechanical strength, biopolymer (Shirazi et al, 2014b), metallic oxide (Shirazi et al, 2014a) and many other materials are used to modify the CSi based materials scaffolds (Mehrali et al, 2013).…”

Influence of inhomogeneous dental posts on stress distribution in tooth root and interfaces: Three-dimensional finite element analysis

“…These recently introduced materials can be tailored for specific performance. 12 Abu Kasim et al 13 investigated a type of functionally graded post on the stress distribution of endodontically treated teeth. The post was composed of alumina/zirconia, titanium (Ti), and hydroxyapatite (HA) in which the elastic modulus (E) was varied longitudinally.…”