Bioceramics - a new era

In the last few decades with the introduction of bioceramics, a special class of ceramics to perform tailored functional / biological / chemical activities in living systems, treatment procedure through reconstructive surgery has been revolutionized and this has resulted in marked improvement in quality of life of the rehabilitated persons. The procedure involves an innovative use of specially designed ceramics for reconstruction of diseased / damaged parts of body, e.g. hips, knees, wrists, spines, jaws, diseased long-bones and repair for maxillofacial, periodontal disease, etc. Bioceramics are produced in a variety of compositions, forms and phases and are often used in the form of bulk materials of specific shape to perform a special function, which are called implants, prostheses or prosthetic devices. They are also used in powder / granule forms to fill space of the damaged hard tissues, which through natural repair process get integrated and restore function, and as coatings to provide bio-friendly interface on substrate for cement-less fixation and sometimes also as a second phase in composites. In this review, different classes of bioceramics, their chemical compositions, structures, tailored functions and broad application areas have been outlined and the effects of their usage on treatment of different trauma / degenerative diseases have been discussed. Along with the current research status of the advanced laboratories around the world on this emerging subject, the developments made so far at CGCRI, Kolkata have also been outlined