title: An alumina toughened zirconia composite for dental implant application: in vivo animal results.
abstract: Ceramic materials are widely used for biomedical applications because of their remarkable biological and mechanical properties. Composites made of alumina and zirconia are particularly interesting owing to their higher toughness with respect to the monolithic materials. On this basis, the present study is focused on the in vivo behavior of alumina toughened zirconia (ATZ) dental implants treated with a hydrothermal process. A minipig model was implemented to assess the bone healing through histology and mRNA expression at different time points (8, 14, 28, and 56 days). The novel ATZ implant was compared to a titanium clinical standard. The implants were analyzed in terms of microstructure and surface roughness before in vivo tests. The most interesting result deals with a statistically significant higher digital histology index for ATZ implants with respect to titanium standard at 56 days, which is an unprecedented finding, to the authors' knowledge. Even if further investigations are needed before proposing the clinical use in humans, the tested material proved to be a promising candidate among the possible ceramic dental implants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Sciences, CIR Dental School, University of Turin, Via Nizza 230, 10126 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianmario
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schierano
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Sciences, CIR Dental School, University of Turin, Via Nizza 230, 10126 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5800-0749
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mussano
authors.affiliation: CNR-IMAMOTER, Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135 Turin, Italy ; CNR-IMAMOTER (Headquarters), Via Canal Bianco 28, 44124 Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Giulia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Faga
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Sciences, CIR Dental School, University of Turin, Via Nizza 230, 10126 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Menicucci
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Sciences, CIR Dental School, University of Turin, Via Nizza 230, 10126 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7369-6764
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Manzella
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Sciences, CIR Dental School, University of Turin, Via Nizza 230, 10126 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sabione
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Sciences, CIR Dental School, University of Turin, Via Nizza 230, 10126 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Tullio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Genova
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Mitzy Mauthe
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: von Degerfeld
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Peirone
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Turin, Via Santena 7, 10126 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Adele
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cassenti
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Turin, Via Santena 7, 10126 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cassoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Sciences, CIR Dental School, University of Turin, Via Nizza 230, 10126 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carossa
mesh_terms: D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D015519:Bone Density / Q000187:drug effects; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D015921:Dental Implants; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods*; D010012:Osteogenesis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D013499:Surface Properties; D013552:Swine; D013556:Swine, Miniature; D015040:Zirconium / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015921:Dental Implants; D015040:Zirconium; D000537:Aluminum Oxide; C028541:zirconium oxide