Hydroxyapatite coating on titanium substrate for dentistry application

Full text: In the dental implants area, many dental pins are made of titanium metallic, applied because of its biocompatibility, low cost and excellent physicochemical properties. The titanium interacts with bone tissue, to leading bone deposition on its surface (osseointegration). Despite the strong adhesion, the kinetics of bone formation on the implant surface does not describe a process of easy control, which causes discomfort to patients implanted until anchoring the implant occurs. In this work we have studied the process of forming a thin coating of hydroxyapatite over a substrate metallic titanium, aiming to enhance the anchoring of the implant and bettering osseointegration. The metallic titanium substrate used was sanded and attacked by acid, exposing the surface, afterwards, was coated by dip (dip-coating), forming a layer of hydroxyapatite. The characterization of the substrate was realized by techniques of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fluorescence X-ray energy dispersive (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). SEM analysis showed the surface texture before and after being sanded. EDX analysis showed characteristic elemental composition of hydroxyapatite. Analysis by X-ray diffraction demonstrated that the precursor solution of hydroxyapatite utilized is appropriate because presents the phases corresponding to the calcium phosphate of interest. (author)