Study of interface phenomena between bone and titanium and alumina surfaces in the case of monolithic and composite dental implants.

The interface between mandibular bone and dental implants was examined with the in vivo dog model. Implant/bone interfaces were investigated for three types of materials: Ti-30 wt% Ta/Al2O3, titanium and Al2O3 using microscopy techniques covering a large magnification range: scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and Auger spectroscopy. During the interaction of the Al2O3 ceramic with bone, an interfacial layer about 15 microm thick is formed. The same phenomenon was observed at the titanium bone interface, where the thickness of the layer was about 10 microm. In all cases, interface layers were sharp with well-defined borders between bone tissue and implant materials. No calcification took place inside the interface layer. A chemical analysis performed on this layer shows the presence of titanium, calcium and phosphorus in the case of titanium implants, and aluminium, calcium and phosphorus in the case of alumina implants. A rapid decrease in metal composition with increasing distances from the implant surface is correlated to a slow increase in calcium and phosphorus in the direction of the bone. Direct contact between implant and bone was observed. No biocorrosive effects were detected at the Ti-30 wt% Ta/Al2O3 metal-ceramic interface.

Investigation of Ti/Al2O3 joints with intermediate tantalum and niobium layers.

The microstructure of TiTa30 alloys diffusion bonded to a 99.7 wt% Al2O3 ceramic was subdivided into a reaction double layer containing the intermetallic phases TiAl and Ti3Al and the (alpha + beta) Ti microstructure. Excellent fracture toughness data of the TiTa30/Al2O3 joints of about 37 J/m2 were obtained after welding at 1200 degrees C for 1 h. The fracture energies of the joints were strongly dependent on the welding temperature which also influenced the thickness of the reaction double layer. The uptake of aluminium and oxygen into the reaction layer and the metal caused an embrittlement and decreased the yield stress and ductility of the metal. Introducing an Nb or Ta layer between pure Ti and Al2O3 before welding resulted in high fracture energies of 40 J/m2 for the Ti/Al2O3 joints. The thermal-induced stresses at the metal-ceramic interface were reduced by the occurrence of an Nb- or Ta-enriched region. The intermediate metal foils also decreased the O and Al uptake of the metal and therefore reduced the brittleness of the reaction zone and the adjacent metal. The thermal-induced stresses at the metal-ceramic interface caused a deflection of the crack into the ceramic during fracture mechanical testing in four-point bending.

Microstructure of interface regions and mechanical properties of Ti/Al 2O 3 and Ti-alloy/Al 2O 3 joints for dental implants.

Titanium and alumina are very well suited as constituents of dental metal/ceramic implants because of their excellent biocompatibility and their special chemical and mechanical properties which can be exploited to tailor composite implant structures. However, prior attempts to join pure titanium without any intermediate layer to alumina ceramic led to unsatisfactory results mainly due to thermal expansion mismatch between both materials. Therefore we used recently developed Ti alloys containing 30%wt Ta or 40%wt Nb for manufacturing dental implants. Moreover, we studied two alternative methods to join pure titanium with alumina using intermediate layers to reduce internal stresses within the joint caused by thermal expansion mismatch. We examined the interface region of these joints by metallographic, mechanical, analytical, and electron microscopy methods. Additionally, a comparison of the properties of the hitherto investigated types of joints with a view of their applicability in dental implants is given. Promising results were obtained for Ti/alumina joints with Nb interlayers. The studies are continuing.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-Ta/alumina and Ti-Nb/alumina joints for dental implants.

The microstructure of Ti-Ta and Ti-Nb alloys diffusion bonded to a 99.7 wt% Al2O3 ceremic for dental implants is subdivided into a reaction double layer containing the phases TiAl and Ti3Al, a transition region of coarse alpha-Ti plates in beta-Ti, and the unaffected bulk metal, the alpha-Ti/beta-Ti structure of which can be refined by annealing at 800 degrees C for 1 hour after bonding. Optimized joints fabricated by diffusion bonding in a high vacuum at 1,200 degrees C from a 99.7 wt% Al2O3 ceramic and Ti-Ta alloys fitted in their thermal contraction behavior to that of the ceramic by the addition of 30 to 40 wt% Ta showed a fracture resistance of 2.3 MN/m3/2. Approximately 80% of the bend test specimens notched at the Ti-Ta/alumina interface failed by crack extension parallel to the interface within the ceramic, which is typical for a metal-ceramic bond of high to medium interfacial strength.

[Surface studies on endosseous aluminum oxide-ceramic implants]. / Oberflächenuntersuchungen an enossalen Implantaten aus Aluminiumoxid-Keramik.

Implants performed without bone cement are predominantly influenced by the border surface between working material and tissue. A study of the surface of the ceramic implant in correlation with the tissue reaction should give an understanding of the kinetics of attachment. Sensitive methods of investigation which give reproducible results are required. In this connection several methods are described and discussed.