New Delhi: Indian researchers have developed a new bi-layered, single-piece dental implant that combines titanium alloy and zirconia in one structure, potentially reducing the number of surgical procedures required for dental implantation while improving durability and biocompatibility.
The innovation has been developed by scientists at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
Conventional dental implants generally comprise three components — a fixture placed in the jawbone, an abutment and a crown. Movement at the junction between these components can affect bone integration and, in some cases, contribute to implant loosening.
Such systems may also require two or three surgical procedures. The new design integrates Ti6Al4V titanium alloy and yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) into a single structure.
Titanium provides the load-bearing base for jawbone integration, while zirconia forms the crown region, offering wear resistance and improved aesthetics.
Researchers fabricated the implant using Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS), an advanced powder-metallurgy technique. A specially designed tapered graphite die enabled the two materials, despite their different sintering temperatures, to be densified together in a single processing step.
The resulting structure achieved 99.5% density and showed a strong, crack-free interface without pores or delamination.
Mechanical tests recorded hardness of up to 1,350 HV, compressive strength of around 1,550 MPa and flexural strength of approximately 310 MPa, comparable to or exceeding several commercial implant materials.
Laboratory biological tests found the material to be non-cytotoxic and highly biocompatible. Tests using L929 mouse fibroblast cells recorded metabolic activity above 90%, while hemolysis tests showed negligible damage to red blood cells.
Researchers are currently optimising the machining process needed to produce the implant’s threaded shape using a 5-axis CNC machine.
The team said the fabrication process is highly reproducible and has potential for industrial scale-up. The research, published in Materials Letters, could support the development of affordable, high-performance indigenous dental implants while reducing surgical complexity for patients.