An experimental study on the osseointegration of the ti-6al-4v bead coating implants

Woo, Jin Oh; Park, Bong Wook; Byun, June Ho; Kim, Seung Eon; Kim, Gyoo Cheon; Park, Bong Soo; Kim, Jong Ryoul

Abstract

The geometric design of an implant surface may play an important role in affecting early osseointegration. It is well known that the porous surfaced implant had much benefits for the osseointegration and the early stability of implant. However, the porous surfaced implant had weakness from the transgingival contamitants, and it resulted in alveolar bone loss. The other problem identified with porous surface implant is the loss of physical properties resulting from the bead sintering process. In this study, we developed the new bead coating implant to overcome the disadvantages of porous surfaced implant. Ti-6Al-4V beads were supplied from STARMET (USA). The beads were prepared by a plasma rotating electrode process (PREP) and had a nearly spherical shape with a diameter of 75-150 micrometer. Two types of titanium implants were supplied by KJ Meditech (Korea). One is an external hexa system (External type) and the other is an internal system with threads (Internal type). The implants were pasted with beads using polyvinylalcohol solution as a binder, and then sintered at 1250 degree C for 2 hours in vacuum of 10(-5) torr. The resulting porous structure was 400-500 micrometer thick and consisted of three to four bead layers bonded to each other and the implant. The pore size was in the range of 50-150 micrometer and the porosity was 30-40 percent in volume. The aim of this study was to evaluate the osseointegration of the newly developed dental implant. The experimental implants (n=16) were inserted in the unilateral femur of 4 mongrel dogs. All animals were killed at 8 weeks after implantation, and samples were harvested for hitological examination. All bead coated porous implants were successfully osseointegrated with peripheral bone. The average bone-implant contact ratios were 84.6 percent (External type) and 81.5 percent (Internal type). In the modified Goldner's trichrome staining, new generated mature bones were observed at the implant interface at 8 weeks after implantation. Although, further studies are required, we could conclude that the newly developed vacuum sintered Ti-6Al-4V bead coating implant was strong enough to resist the implant insertion force, and it was easily osseointegrated with peripheral bone.