Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Document Type

Thesis - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Dentistry

Copyright Statement

All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of Nova Southeastern University. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.

Department

College of Dental Medicine

First Advisor

Jeffery Thompson

Date of original Performance / Presentation

January 2021

Publication Date / Copyright Date

1-1-2021

Abstract

Brief Background and goal of this study: Zirconia dental implants have emerged in the 20th century as a viable clinical option for oral treatment. Many companies now offer a range of dental implants made of zirconium dioxide (ZrO2). Patient’s requests for having non-metallic dental restorative options, including availability of ceramic implants placed instead of titanium implants, have increased dramatically. However, there is currently no professional consensus regarding the clinical efficacy of using these all-ceramic implant systems, especially regarding mechanical durability. The main purpose of this study is to determine the fracture/fatigue behavior of zirconia implants compared to that of titanium implants of equivalent characteristics. Specific aims: To determine the fracture behavior of two-piece Alumina-toughened Zirconia implants (ATZ) in regard to both macrofracture and microfracture, and to compare the fatigue-fracture incidence of two-piece zirconia implants vs. titanium implants under simulated intraoral loading. Significance: Availability of zirconia implants has increased dramatically within the past years (2010-2021). Patients are requesting zirconia implants because of two main stated reasons, esthetics and metal intolerance. Therefore, a number of dental implant manufacturing companies have introduced ceramic implants to their product lines. It is important to understand their behavior relative to traditional titanium implants, especially regarding fracture behavior. Innovation: Very few studies on two-piece zirconia implants are found in the scientific literature. This includes studies evaluating fracture-fatigue behavior, which is an essential characteristic that dictates the management in cases of dental implant failure and the need for retrieval. Methods: Eight ATZ implants and eight titanium implants were obtained and mounted in copper cylinders with methyl methacrylate (Orthodontic resin) at a 30o angle. A dynamic load of 150N was applied to the implants for 1.2 million cycles using a Leinfelder cyclic wear testing machine. Implants were then introduced to static loading until fracture in a universal testing machine. Fractured implants were viewed via optical microscopy followed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Results: No fractures occurred during cyclic loading. However, the 2-piece titanium implants (M = 1032.2 SD = 29.1), when compared to the equivalent 2-piece zirconia implants (M = 671.0, SD = 59.4), demonstrated significantly greater break load (n), t (10.2) = 15.4, p = < 0.001 in post-fatigue static fracture testing. Analysis of means is a systematic statistical procedure used in depicting significant differences among groups of information in a visual form. It showed statistically significant difference in the means of both groups. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, it can be surmised that Alumina-toughened zirconia implants can withstand loads that are above the maximum load observed in normal in-vivo occlusion and can be seen as a possible future substitute for traditional titanium implants when indicated.

Disciplines

Dentistry

Keywords

ATZ; fatigue; fracture; implants; zirconia

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