Costs & benefits of bio-inspired composites for biomedical implants

• Main Author: Giovanni, Sharren
• Other Authors: Hortense Le Ferrand
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Engineering::Materials::Biomaterials
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/157324
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The research on dental implant materials has evolved over the years, with the current aim to make implants as similar to natural teeth as possible. Nacre-like alumina (NLA) is a recently developed bio-inspired ceramic composite that is thought to have a high potential to be used as a dental implant. One of the reasons is that it is an inert, hard, and wear-resistant ceramic, which also exhibits toughness. As this is a very new material that is currently produced in research laboratories, we need to identify the risk and benefits of using this material as a dental implant to anticipate its further application as an actual commercial product. Firstly, this study presents information on the natural tooth structure and properties as well as the current dental implant procedures in place. Then, material properties are gathered from commercial implant materials, mainly titanium, zirconia, porcelain, and NLA. Material properties comparisons are carried out based on these data between implant materials and NLA as well as between bone (tooth) and implants and NLA. The study also presents a simple calculation to identify the maximum stress that the tooth, natural or implant, has to withstand. Discussion about the cost of the material is also included. Finally, the current limitations and future work are also listed in the report to provide better information about what remains to be done for the future use of NLA in dental implants.