Surface modification of dental implant abutments for better soft tissue integration (completed)

About the project

Dental implant treatment has constantly become widely used for patients who suffer from reduced chewing function and esthetics. Some implants have good performances within years of use, inevitably while some have follow-up with negative symptoms like bone loss and soft tissue recession. This might be partially due to unhealthy daily hygiene habits and various physical constitutions of different people. However, proper surfaces of dental abutments play an important role in preventing these symptoms. Soft tissues around dental implant abutments tend to be infected by bacteria and appear inflamed. Therefore, it is essential to make the implant abutments more tightly sealed as soft tissue integration with natural teeth. We will try to obtain this result through ways of surface modification to dental implant abutments. Therefore, the aim of this research is to modify the surface of abutments in contact with soft tissue to find the best surface features for improving soft tissue growth and against bacteria invasion. Surfaces of abutments are treated through mechanical and chemical processes. Topographical and chemical features are analyzed by different methods and tested in vitro. Before applying the modified abutments into human, animal experiments are required to test its biocompatibility and antimicrobial effect. Soft tissue reactions of animals to these implants indicate similar possible reactions of human. The final goal is to achieve the best surface preventing bacteria migration and offering sealing function in human.

Financing

This work was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación del Gobierno de España (Torres Quevedo contract to MG and Ramón y Cajal contract to MM).

Cooperation

Department of Fundamental Biology and Health Sciences. Research Institute on Health Sciences (IUNICS), University of Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Tags: biomaterials, surface modification, electrochemistry, dental abutment, soft tissue, gingival fibroblast
Published Aug. 16, 2018 10:01 AM - Last modified Aug. 16, 2018 10:04 AM