New Dental Implant Technology Using Silicon Nitride
Silicon nitride (Si3N4) is an ideal material for dental implants. Like all ceramics, it’s metal-free and won’t corrode. But silicon nitride has advantages other ceramics do not: It’s extremely biocompatible and is also antibacterial—both exceptional qualities for a dental implant material.
The ideal dental biomaterial
Previously, titanium was the choice for dental implants, as it was strong and light. But silicon nitride offers similar strength and a distinct advantage: It’s osteogenic, meaning it promotes the formation of bone.
In studies, we’ve seen that silicon nitride ceramic can turn on bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) and suppress bone-resorbing cells. This means that a silicon nitride implant may speed up bone healing, bone fusion, and implant integration into the skeleton.
Antibacterial advantages
Silicon nitride ceramic has been demonstrated to be effective against a wide variety of bacteria, including P. Gingivalis, the bacteria implicated in gingivitis. Silicon nitride’s surface chemistry makes it inherently resistant to bacterial colonization and biofilm formation.
Bacterial infection of any biomaterial implant is always a concern. Because peri-implant inflammatory diseases can be both common and hard to treat, an antibacterial dental implant can be a way to control this complication.
What this means
The range of silicon nitride products from SINTX offers all the advantages of this ideal dental biomaterial and provides the latest technology in dental implants. As a dental implant, our silicon nitride has been thoroughly tested to ISO 10993-01 standards. In addition, SINTX has published extensive research regarding osseointegration of silicon nitride and superior bone healing. Taken together, it makes sense to use silicon nitride as a dental implant material.
Supporting research:
- Anti-Infective and Osteointegration Properties of Silicon Nitride, Poly (Ether Ether Ketone), and Titanium Implants
- Reduced Bacteria Colonization and Increased Bone Formation on Si3N4 Spinal Implants: An Evaluation of Bacterial Colonization on Existing Implant Materials
- Silicon Nitride Bioceramics Induce Chemically Driven Lysis in Porphyromonas Gingivalis
- Bioactive Silicon Nitride: A New Therapeutic Material for Osteoarthropathy
- Increased Bone Attachment to Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) Materials Used in Interbody Fusion Cages (IBF) Compared to Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and Titanium (Ti) Materials – An In vivo Study