THE STUDY OF PROTOTYPES OF DENTAL IMPLANTS OBTAINED BY THE TITANIUM POWDER INJECTION MOLDING PROCESS: in vivo STUDY

摘要

The production of titanium parts from powder metallurgy is one of the tendencies of modern metallurgy, since it allows obtaining structures with complex geometries and controlled porosity. The purpose of this study was to produce two types of dental implant prototype, and compare them biologically. Smooth surface prototypes were obtained, by the conventional turning process and porous surface prototypes using Metal Injection Molding (MIM). The prototypes were implanted in rats that were euthanized after 3 weeks, and the bone/implant interface was analyzed. The results showed that all prototypes were clinically stable at the end of the healing period, but those produced by the MIM process presented a significantly higher percentage of osseointegration (bone/implant contact) than the milled prototypes in the same healing period. It is concluded that the bone tissue grew independent of type of implant, enabling quick, rigid fixation already in the third week of the healing process.