Wear and corrosion interactions on titanium in oral environment : literature review

The oral cavity is a complex environment where corrosive substances from dietary, human saliva, and oral biofilms may accumulate in retentive areas of dental implant systems and prostheses promoting corrosion at their surfaces. Additionally, during mastication, micromovements may occur between prosthetic joints causing a relative motion between contacting surfaces, leading to wear. Both processes (wear and corrosion) result in a bio-tribocorrosion system once that occurs in contact with biological tissues and fluids. This review paper is focused on the aspects related to the corrosion and wear behavior of titanium-based structures in the oral environment. Furthermore, the clinical relevance of the oral environment is focused on the harmful effect that acidic substances and biofilms, formed in human saliva, may have on titanium surfaces. In fact, a progressive degradation of titanium by wear and corrosion (tribocorrosion) mechanisms can take place affecting the performance of titanium-based implant and prostheses. Also, the formation of wear debris and metallic ions due to the tribocorrosion phenomena can become toxic for human tissues. This review gathers knowledge from areas like materials sciences, microbiology, and dentistry contributing to a better understanding of bio-tribocorrosion processes in the oral environment.(undefined

Electrochemical behavior and pH stability of artificial salivas for corrosion tests Comportamento eletroquímico e estabilidade de pH de salivas artificiais para testes de corrosão

It is assumed that the compositions of artificial salivas are similar to that of human saliva. However, the use of solutions with different compositions in in vitro corrosion studies can lead dissimilar electrolytes to exhibit dissimilar corrosivity and electrochemical stability. This study evaluated four artificial salivas as regards pH stability with time, redox potentials and the polarization response of an inert platinum electrode. The tested solutions were: SAGF medium, Mondelli artificial saliva, UFRJ artificial saliva (prepared at the School of Pharmacy, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil) and USP-RP artificial saliva (prepared at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil). It was observed that pH variations were less than 1 unit during a 50-hour test. The SAGF medium, and the UFRJ and USP-RP solutions exhibited more oxidizing characteristics, whereas the Mondelli solution presented reducing properties. Anodic polarization revealed oxidation of the evaluated electrolytes at potentials below +600 mV SCE. It was observed that the UFRJ and USP-RP solutions presented more intense oxidation and reduction processes as compared to the Mondelli and SAGF solutions.<br>Admite-se que as composições das salivas artificiais são semelhantes àquela da saliva humana. A utilização de soluções de composições distintas em estudos de corrosão in vitro, entretanto, pode fazer com que eletrólitos diferentes exibam diferenças no processo corrosivo e na estabilidade eletroquímica. Este estudo avaliou quatro salivas artificiais em relação a estabilidade do pH em função do tempo, potencial redox e resposta à polarização de um eletrodo de platina inerte. As soluções testadas foram: meio SAGF, saliva artificial Mondelli, saliva artificial UFRJ (preparada pela Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil) e saliva artificial USP-RP (preparada pela Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, SP, Brasil). Foi observado que as variações de pH foram menores que 1 unidade durante as 50 horas de ensaio. O meio SAGF e as soluções UFRJ e USP-RP exibiram características mais oxidantes, enquanto a solução Mondelli apresentou propriedades redutoras. A polarização anódica mostrou oxidação dos eletrólitos avaliados a potenciais inferiores a +600 mV ECS. Foi observado que as soluções UFRJ e USP-RP são mais facilmente oxidadas e reduzidas se comparadas com as soluções Mondelli e SAGF