Titanium implants?
Titanium has become a very popular material in aerospace, biomedical, and the automotive
industry. Titanium is used due to its physical properties, resistance to corrosion, lightness
and acceptable biocompatibility.
Titanium Grade 5 (Ti-6Al-4V) is an alloy containing 6% aluminium and 4% vanadium.
Used in areas exposed to high stress, especially in the aviation and marine fields, due to its
high material strength and low weight. Titanium Grade 4 (Ti-CP) includes 0.5% iron with
ahigh oxygen and nitrogen content, and is slightly more resistant to corrosion than grade 5.
Titanium Grade 5 has more physical resistance than Titanium Grade 4, but Vanadium is
known to have a cytotoxic structure. Titanium compounds can be locally or systemically
cytotoxic due to their content, and, it has been reported that the aluminum and vanadium
elements in the alloy can cause bone destruction, allergic reactions and hypersensitivity
when the titanium alloy dissolves. Titanium undergoes biological destruction after long
years of corrosion in the bone and can turn into a metal protein complex. But, allergic
reactions to pure titanium are very rare in the world.
Or Zirconium implants?
Zirconium has been used in the medical field, especially for body implants, for many years,
and due to its physical properties and biological tissue-friendliness its use has considerably
increased in recent years. A Swiss company began making Zirconium implants in 1987.
Zirconium (a biomaterial) plays a role in the integration of the implant into the bone and
acceleration of healing due to the quality of the implant’s surface, significantly contributing
to the integration of the implant into bone. There is less plaque accumulation on zirconium
implants compared to equivalent implants, contributing to less gum disease in years
following the implant treatment, minimizing implant rejection. Natural treatment
enthusiasts prefer zirconium to titanium implants as the interaction of zirconium with other
materials is greatly reduced.
Today, both titanium and zirconium are safely used as implant materials. Our patients due
to undergo implant treatment should make their decisions by considering the material
content, the origin of the implant brand to be used, the experience of the practitioner, and
the competence of the clinic’s physicians.
Dr. Tevfik Yavuz
