Bone response to calcium phosphate coatings for dental implants

The ultimate goal of titanium dental implants is to obtain bioactive fixation between the implants and the native surrounding bone. The osseointegration of titanium dental implants is critically dependent on the mechanical and biocompatible properties of the implant surfaces. The medical grade titanium has good biocompatibility and excellent mechanical properties, except the lack of bioactive surface property. Despite its successful use, there is still room for improvement, with respect to faster bone healing or better healing in compromised tissues and conditions. Surface modification of dental implants has proved to accelerate the osseointegration. Rough surfaced implants increase bone-to-implant contact and speed up bone apposition. Among several methods being introduced to produce a rough surfaced implant, coating with calcium phosphate (CaP) has proved to be successful.CaP ceramics are known for their biocompatibility and osteoconductive properties and have been commonly used as coating materials to dental implants. The CaP bioceramics could promote implant-bone fixation due to their chemical and crystallographic similarity to the bone. Currently, CaP bioceramics are used to coat titanium implant and can endow the mechanical strength of metals with the excellent biological properties. Even though a stable coating can be advantageous in maintaining the firm bonding of bone to the implant, concern exists about the long-term ability of hydroxyapatite coatings to sustain the shear loads that arise at the implant-bone interface. The chapter outlines the various CaP-coating methods, detailed account of the bone-implant interface, drawbacks and avenues for future research in this area.