Biomaterial Database

The osseointegration of zirconia dental implants. 2013

Patrick A Assal

Médecin dentiste SVMD-SSO Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. assal@dentoffice.ch

Zirconia is currently extensively used in medicine, especially in orthopedic surgery for various joint replacement appliances. Its outstanding mechanical and chemical properties have made it the "material of choice" for various types of prostheses. Its color in particular makes it a favored material to manufacture dental implants. A literature search through Medline enables one to see zirconia's potential but also to point out and identify its weaknesses. The search shows that zirconia is a biocompatible, osteoconductive material that has the ability to osseointegrate. Its strength of bonding to bone depends on the surface structure of the implant. Although interesting, the studies do not allow for the recommendation of the use of zirconia implants in daily practice. The lack of studies examining the chemical and structural composition of zirconia implants does not allow for a "gold standard" to be established in the implant manufacturing process. Randomized clinical trials (RCT) are urgently needed on surface treatments of zirconia implants intended to achieve the best possible osseointegration.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D003116	Color	The visually perceived property of objects created by absorption or reflection of specific wavelengths of light.	Colors
D003764	Dental Materials	Materials used in the production of dental bases, restorations, impressions, prostheses, etc.	Dental Material,Material, Dental,Materials, Dental
D003776	Dental Porcelain	A type of porcelain used in dental restorations, either jacket crowns or inlays, artificial teeth, or metal-ceramic crowns. It is essentially a mixture of particles of feldspar and quartz, the feldspar melting first and providing a glass matrix for the quartz. Dental porcelain is produced by mixing ceramic powder (a mixture of quartz, kaolin, pigments, opacifiers, a suitable flux, and other substances) with distilled water. (From Jablonski's Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992)	Porcelain,Porcelain, Dental,Dental Porcelains,Porcelains,Porcelains, Dental
D003799	Dental Stress Analysis	The description and measurement of the various factors that produce physical stress upon dental restorations, prostheses, or appliances, materials associated with them, or the natural oral structures.	Analyses, Dental Stress,Analysis, Dental Stress,Stress Analyses, Dental,Stress Analysis, Dental,Dental Stress Analyses
D006244	Hardness	The mechanical property of material that determines its resistance to force. HARDNESS TESTS measure this property.	Hardnesses
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001672	Biocompatible Materials	Synthetic or natural materials, other than DRUGS, that are used to replace or repair any body TISSUES or bodily function.	Biomaterials,Bioartificial Materials,Hemocompatible Materials,Bioartificial Material,Biocompatible Material,Biomaterial,Hemocompatible Material,Material, Bioartificial,Material, Biocompatible,Material, Hemocompatible
D001711	Biotransformation	The chemical alteration of an exogenous substance by or in a biological system. The alteration may inactivate the compound or it may result in the production of an active metabolite of an inactive parent compound. The alterations may be divided into METABOLIC DETOXICATION, PHASE I and METABOLIC DETOXICATION, PHASE II.
D015040	Zirconium	A rather rare metallic element with atomic number 40, atomic weight 91.224, and symbol Zr.