3D laser-printed porous Ti₆Al₄V dental implants for compromised bone support

Alveolar bone loss following peri-implantitis remains a clinical challenge. We aimed to design a novel bioactive dental implant to accommodate the large bone defect caused by removal of previously failed implant.

Bio-Active^ITRI dental implant was manufactured with laser-sintered additive 3D printing technique. A 7.5 mm diameter × 7.0 mm depth osteotomy defect was created at the lateral aspect of distal femur of 20 New Zealand white rabbits to simulate the bony defect after removal of failed dental implant. One side of distal femurs was randomly selected for the commercially pure titanium NobelActive™ implant (control group) and the other side with Bio-Active^ITRI Ti₆Al₄V porous dental implant (ITRI group). Animals were sacrificed at 4, 8 and 12 weeks after the implants' insertion. The samples were processed for gross morphological analysis, radiographic examination, micro-CT evaluation, and mechanical testing.

In histomorphometrical evaluation and micro-CT analysis, active new bone formation and good osseointegration within the ITRI implants were observed at the bone gap surrounding the dental implants. The biomechanical parameters in the Bio-Active^ITRI dental implants were significantly higher than those of the commercially control samples. For the Bio-Active^ITRI dental implants, the trabecular thickness decreased, while the trabecular separation and total porosity increased from the prescribed 1-month to 3-month time points; reflecting the natural remodeling of surrounding bony tissue in the Bio-Active^ITRI dental implants.

The novel porous structured Bio-Active^ITRI dental implants may have a great potential for the prosthetic reconstruction where bone support is compromised after removal of a previously failed implant.