Poster session 37. Cells, materials and biochemistry IV

Abstract

Titanium and titanium alloys are common used materials for dental implants, however they have biological limitations for oral use. Ceramics meet the demands of biocompatibility, but their susceptibility to implant fracture is increased. Therefore, a combination of both materials could be an advantage for dental implants. Therefore, a new hybrid implant combining titanium and ceramic components by glass solder fixation was introduced. The aim of the present study was to investigate the static and dynamic mechanical properties of such hybrid implants. Two different types of hybrid implants were tested, which consisted of a metallic inlay made of titanium grade 4 or grade 5 (primec GmbH) fixed in a thin modified Cercon ceramic (yttrium stabilized zirconium dioxide) shell with a diameter of 4.3 mm (DeguDent GmbH) via glass solder and a titanium abutment fixed with an abutment screw. For each group n = 4 were tested according to DIN EN ISO 14801. The static tests were performed displacement-controlled until implant failure with 0.2 mm/s and the dynamic tests with sinusoidal load levels of 20 to 200 N and 24 to 240 N until failure or 5x10 6 run out cycles. The Cercon ceramic implant with the Ti grade 5 abutment showed higher fracture loads (298 N ± 42 N) in the static tests compared to the implants with the Ti grade 4 (262 N ± 22 N). During dynamic testing two specimens of both groups reached 5x10 6 cycles at the load level of 200 N. At the higher load level one specimen with the Ti grade 5 reached the required cycles, none with the Ti grade 4. The tested hybrid implants showed favourable static and dynamic failure loads comparable to other titanium or ceramic dental implants. Further research has to be performed to determine the in vivo performance of hybrid implants.