Journal of Biotechnology & Biomaterials
Open Access

Abstract

Dental implants osseointegration is a current topic that is known to be influenced by several factors like the surgical procedure, the loading upon implantation, the implant surface and coatings and also the implant design. Ti6Al4V alloy chemical stability, mechanical properties and biocompatibility explain the great use of this alloy in dental implants. Additionally, these implants surfaces can be coated with bioactive materials like hydroxyapatite, β-TCP or bioactive glass in order to increase the cell attachment to the metal implant surface. Traditional hydroxyapatite coatings (e.g. by sol-gel dip coating) are proven to be adequate for obtaining high quality coatings on metal substrates, however when used in dental implants, due to the implantation process these coatings can be detached from the metal surface. In this context, a surface design that could avoid this scenario can bring advantages when regarding dental implants. Laser technology can be used for the production of a designed machined metal surface, where bioactive material can be allocated and afterwards used to sinter the hydroxyapatite powders. This work presents a new design approach for the production of Ti6Al4V doped hydroxyapatite structures for dental applications by using laser technology.

Biography

Email: gmiranda@dem.uminho.pt