Mohammed Noor, Maha Wagdy Elkerdawy And Amr ElKhadem,

ABSTRACT


Introduction: Titanium And Its Alloys Have Been Considered As The Golden Standard Material For The Production Of Dental Implants Because Of The Favorable Long-term Survival Rates Compared To Any Other Materials. Nowadays New Materials Have Emerged And Have Started To Compete With The Titanium To Become The Number One Material To Be Used As Dental Implants. One Of These Materials Is The Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) Which Has Better Esthetics And Stress Distribution Than Titanium.
Objectives: To Test Whether The Nitrogen Plasma Surface Treatment Will Improve The Surface Wettability And The Roughness Of The CFR-PEEK, Ceramic Filled PEEK And The Unfilled PEEK Which Could Aid In Increasing The Osseointegeration Of These Materials When They Will Be Used As Dental Implants. Subjects And Methods: 7 Samples Of Unfilled PEEK, 7 Samples Of Ceramic Filled PEEK And 7 Samples Of Carbon Filled PEEK. The Samples Were Cylindrical In Shape And Each Sample Had Dimensions Of 10 Mm Diameter And 2.5 Mm Height. The Roughness And Contact Angle Readings Were Obtained For Each Sample Before And After Nitrogen Plasma Treatment.

Results: There Was An Improvement In The Surface Wettability Of The Three Groups With Both Unfilled PEEK And Ceramic Filled PEEK Groups Having Statistically Significant Results. Surface Roughness Was Increased In All Three Groups Although The Increase Was Not Statistically Significant. Conclusion: Nitrogen Plasma Surface Treatment Is An Effective Way To Increase The Wettability Of The PEEK Materials However The Effect On Surface Roughness Is Questionable.