Surface roughened zirconia: towards hydrothermal stability

Surface roughness is needed in several yttria-stabilized zirconia components used in restorative dentistry for osseointegration or adhesion purposes. This can be achieved by different treatments, which may also modify the microstructure of the surface. Among them, sandblasting and chemical etching are widely used, but their effect on hydrothermal aging of zirconia is not fully understood. In the present work, the zirconia long-term stability of rough surfaces prepared by these techniques is analyzed and a method is proposed for preventing hydrothermal aging while maintaining the original surface appearance and mechanical properties. The method involves pressure infiltration of a Cerium salt solution on the roughened surfaces followed by a thermal treatment. The solution, trapped by surface defects and small pores, is decomposed during thermal treatment into Cerium oxide, which is diffused at high temperature, obtaining Ce co-doping in the near-surface region. In addition, the microstructural changes induced in the near-surface by sandblasting or chemical etching are removed by the thermal treatment together with surface defects. No color modification was observed and the final roughness parameters were in the range of existing implants of proved good osseointegration. The aging resistance of Ce co-doped materials was strongly enhanced, showing the absence of aging after artificial degradation, increasing in this way the surface mechanical integrity. The proposed treatment is easily applicable to the current manufacturing procedures of zirconia dental posts, abutments, crowns and dentures, representing a solution to hydrothermal aging in these and other biomedical applications.