[Dental implantations of ceramics-coated metals]

Recent studies and personal experience of the Authors in the field of dental implants have encountered the same fundamental problem which arises with orthopedic prosthesis procedures. The basic problem is that of adhesion between the bone tissue and the metal implant. Chrome-cobalt alloy, Tantalum and Titanium are the metals of most recent use. The Authors therefore proceeded to investigate the behaviour of alveolar bone tissue in the proximity of artificial teeth made of alloy (platinum-gold) covered with ceramic, as used in prosthetic dentistry. The experiment was carried out in a dog and a man. In the dog, two of its mandibular teeth were substituted with the same ceramic-gold implants: the first, a replica of natural tooth, was placed in the socket and held in place by metal splint and mandibular circumferential wirings. The other implant, without a replicated crown, was left free, within the alveolus, without contacting the near or opposing teeth. A solid smooth surfaced alumina device, shaped like a small cylinder, was implanted in the upper femoral epiphysis of the same animal.