Dental Implant Systems

Among various dental materials and their successful applications, a dental implant is a good example of the integrated system of science and technology involved in multiple disciplines including surface chemistry and physics, biomechanics, from macro-scale to nano-scale manufacturing technologies and surface engineering. As many other dental materials and devices, there are crucial requirements taken upon on dental implants systems, since surface of dental implants is directly in contact with vital hard/soft tissue and is subjected to chemical as well as mechanical bio-environments. Such requirements should, at least, include biological compatibility, mechanical compatibility, and morphological compatibility to surrounding vital tissues. In this review, based on carefully selected about 500 published articles, these requirements plus MRI compatibility are firstly reviewed, followed by surface texturing methods in details. Normally dental implants are placed to lost tooth/teeth location(s) in adult patients whose skeleton and bony growth have already completed. However, there are some controversial issues for placing dental implants in growing patients. This point has been, in most of dental articles, overlooked. This review, therefore, throws a deliberate sight on this point. Concluding this review, we are proposing a novel implant system that integrates materials science and up-dated surface technology to improve dental implant systems exhibiting bio- and mechano-functionalities

Conservative Approach to Unilateral Condylar Fracture in a Growing Patient: A 2.5-Year Follow Up

Condylar fractures in children are especially important because of the risk of a mandibular growth-center being affected in the condylar head, which can lead to growth retardation and facial asymmetry. The purpose of this article is to follow up the two and half year clinical and radiological evaluation of the conservative treatment of a 10 year-old patient, who had a unilateral green-stick type fracture. The patient presented with painful facial swelling localized over the left condylar region, limited mouth-opening and mandibular deviation to the left. Panoramic radiography and computed tomography confirmed the diagnosis of incomplete fracture on the left condyle with one side of the bone fractured and the other bent. Closed reduction was chosen to allow for initial fibrous union of the fracture segments and remodeling with a normal functional stimulus. A non-rigid mandibular splint was applied in order to remove the direct pressure on the fracture side of the mandible. Clinical and radiologic examination after 30 months revealed uneventful healing with reduction of the condylar head and remodeling of the condylar process following conservative treatment