Could Nanotechnology Revolutionize Dental Implant Technology?

 Dentistry  

Nanotechnology will impact nearly every aspect of our lives in the future, including how we care for and maintain our teeth.  New techniques using titanium dioxide nanotubes, for instance are making dental implants more reliable and safer.

F
or an adult, losing a tooth can be a traumatic event—especially when a replacement can cost thousands of dollars. Current technologies use a prosthesis such as a crown, denture, or bridge to replace a tooth. Unfortunately, the best procedure is implantation and isn't always successful. Surgery in patients who have gingivitis, tooth decay, or other infections often fails. When this happens, a second surgery must be scheduled to replace or remove the implant.

That's why orthopedic surgeons are always looking for new dental implant technologies. One of the most promising so far is nanotechnology. It could impact all aspects of the procedures involved, from guaranteeing the prerequisite health of the gums and adjacent teeth to the implant itself. Whether you need same day tooth implants in Mesa AZ, or any city for that matter, the following dental implant technologies will make it that much easier and pain free.

1) Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes

This is the new material that will result in the greatest procedural changes. Implants are routinely made from strong metals like titanium, and future implants will likely be made the same way—except with one key difference. Now, they'll be coated with a nanomaterial called titanium dioxide nanotubes.

Cortino Sukotjo, an assistant professor from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, has been running tests with the nanomaterial for years, and is now partnering with Tolou Shokuhfar, a professor of mechanical engineering at Michigan Technological University.

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2) Fewer Complications

The pair of researchers found that implants coated with titanium dioxide nanotubes actually encouraged the growth of bone cells. More importantly, those bone cells adhere better to the nanotubes than traditional titanium. Consequently, patients who have needed a dental implant have a higher likelihood of keeping it in place and a lower likelihood of succumbing to costly infections.

3) Drug Delivery

If that weren't awesome enough, the nanomaterials could be used to slowly deliver drugs after surgery. Nanotubes are exactly what they sound like: small, microscopic, hollow tubes. Therefore, the nanotubes can be loaded with other materials. In this case, Shokuhfar and another scientist, Alexander Yarin from the University of Illinois at Chicago's Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, filled the nanotubes with an anti-inflammatory called sodium naproxen. The drug is released gradually, and could help reduce infection
even further.

4) Faster Healing

Because of the properties of the nanotube coating and the potential for a new drug delivery system, patients are sure to heal much faster than with traditional technologies. Yet another method of fighting infection was developed in tandem with the drug-loaded nanotubes. After all other methods were applied, the scientists teamed with Craig Friedrich from Michigan Tech to lace the nanotubes with silver nanoparticles.

Health supplements have screamed about the benefits of silver nanoparticles for years, and they are often purchased by health-conscious consumers avoiding antibiotics. These researchers acknowledge that the silver has antimicrobial properties which could prevent biofilms from covering the implant. This means that nanotechnology will reduce our dependence on antibiotics after a dental implant surgery.

5) More Durable

All of these methods result in a cleaner, healthier, more durable implant which could last much longer than traditional implants—but that's not all. The cost of these implants is greatly reduced, especially because there's a much lower chance of requiring a second surgery to replace or remove the first implant. Lastly, the titanium dioxide nanotubes are completely transparent. Paired with a popular, new type of all-white implant made from zirconia, it could leave patients feeling confident about their replacements.

Of course, this kind of nanotechnology won't stop here. In addition to revolutionizing dental implant surgeries, it could change the way we implant artificial hips, fight cancer, or personalize medicine to fight individual diseases which have been debilitating until now.

By Karleia Steiner

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