New Implant Coating Helps Patients with Bone Deficits

New Implant Coating Helps Patients with Bone Deficits

Implant therapy is often the treatment of choice for individuals with tooth loss, but some patients are not good candidates due to poor bone health, including many older adults, smokers, and people with diabetes, osteoporosis, or cancer. In a partnership between Spain’s University of the Basque Country, Universitat Jaume I (UJI), and Spanish manufacturer Ilerimplant SL, researchers have developed a sol-gel process that renders a bioactive implant coating designed to improve implant success among people with bone deficits.

Partially funded by the Spanish government, it’s hoped that the process will increase the biocompatibility of dental implants and reduce the time needed for osseointegration. The sol-gel process degrades an alkoxide (the conjugate base of an alcohol) through hydrolysis with an acid, which produces silanols. The silanols then form a network that enables the creation of an organic coating suited for metal surfaces. The coating is designed to accelerate the anchoring process. Whereas a titanium implant typically takes at least 2 months to anchor to the jawbone, for example, this new prototype would reduce that time and allow the ceramic crown to be seated earlier—speeding recovery time.

“The implant is covered with a biodegradable coating that dissolves upon contact with the bone, and during this degradation process [the coating] is able to release silicon compounds and other bioactive materials that induce bone generation,” explains Julio José Suay, PhD, coordinator of the polymers and advanced materials research group at UJI. Researchers have completed in vitro testing and are now beginning animal testing. Human clinical trials will be the next step, and the team hopes to have a marketable product within 2 years to 3 years.