Dental implants with a controlled release functionality

Continued ageing of the world population in combination with an active lifestyle and higher quality of life expectations, is driving the demand for long-term reliable orthopedic and dental implants. Implant-related infections are a serious complication in prosthetic surgery, jeopardizing implant fixation. This project aims to develop implants for dental applications that allow a controlled release of anti-infective or bioactive agents from a refillable built-in reservoir through a mesoporous diffusion barrier (SiO2, bioactive glass) integrated in a high-strength fatigue-resistant additively manufactured microporous load-bearing structure (titanium, ZrO2), thereby effectively reducing the need for implant revision due to infections or loosening. Due to its generic nature, the materials technology can easily be translated to orthopedic, maxillofacial and veterinary implants, whereas the controlled release functionality can be fine-tuned for a broad range of therapeutic agents (anti-infectives as well as bone stimulating agents).

Keywords:dentale implantaten

Disciplines:Ceramic and glass materials, Materials science and engineering, Semiconductor materials, Other materials engineering