Fabrication and Characterization of Porous-Rooted Polymethyl- methacrylate (PMMA) Dental Implants

A compaction-agglomeration fabrication tech-nique has been developed to produce poly-methylmethacrylate dental implants having a porous coating on the root portion. This process allozvs control of pore structure enabling in-growth of either bone or fibrous tissue. The re-lationships between mechanical properties and pore microstructure have been determined for materials produced by this process. The mech-anical properties of the porous coating can be estimated from these relationships. The loss of hluman teeth and their successful replacement with synthetic implant devices is a problem which has stimulated much interest and received a great deal of attention. Although countless n-umbers of implant design have been conceived and many clinically tested, few have proven to be effective. Grenoble,1 in a recent review of the dental implant literature, points out that despite extensive animal trials and human clinical experience, substantial conclu-sions interrelating design and performance of denital implants appear to be lacking. This situation serves to demonstrate the difficulties involved with performing a comprehensive evaluation of experimental trials and under-lines the need for such studies. When intended to replace the function of a missing natural tcooth or teeth, a successful dental implant must perform without mechani-cally or chemically traumatizing the host tissues. To achieve this goal, the implant designer must consider a number of factors: (1) the shape and size constrain-ts imposed by the mandibular and maxillary anatomy, (2) the selection of biomaterials possessing suitable properties, (3) the interaction between the implant and the surrounding tissue, (4) the hygienic require-Supported by National Institute for Dental Research Contract N01-DE-32420