Failure torque of ceramic neck titanium implant.

Area of Science:

• Dental Materials Science
• Biomaterials Engineering
• Implant Dentistry

Background:

• Titanium dental implants often present a dark line or discoloration through gingival tissues.
• This aesthetic concern can negatively impact patient satisfaction and perception of natural dentition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a novel dental implant design featuring a ceramic shell over the titanium collar.
• To determine the fracture torque of the ceramic shell and compare it to clinical implant insertion torque.

Main Methods:

• Commercially pure titanium implants (3.3, 4.1, 4.8 mm diameters) were coated with 0.5 mm porcelain.
• An axial-torsional universal testing machine subjected implants to increasing torque until failure.
• Statistical analysis (ANOVA, Tukey HSD, 1-sample t-test) compared failure torque values.

Main Results:

• Ceramic shells did not fracture; implant carriers fractured instead at maximum torque.
• Failure torque varied significantly between the 3.3 mm diameter and larger diameters.
• Failure torque for all tested groups significantly exceeded the clinical insertion torque (35 Ncm).

Conclusions:

• The ceramic shell design successfully prevented its own fracture under testing.
• Implant carriers fractured at torque levels substantially higher than those used clinically.
• This novel design shows potential for improved aesthetics in dental implantology.