There is a significant need for improved titanium alloys to meet the increasing demands placed on oral reconstructive devices and to facilitate the design of new devices. The trend to minimal invasive Dentistry involving ultra-small designs requires materials with improved strength, toughness, galling and fatigue resistance. This program is designed to evaluate two novel titanium alloy compositions that promise to meet these requirements and to become the materials of choice for the next generation of reconstructive systems. Improved titanium alloys will allow Dental device designers the freedom of optimizing surfaces to enhance osseointegration without being limited by the mechanical properties of the substrate alloy. The titanium industry has overlooked the potential benefits of titanium-tungsten alloys because these alloys are impractical to produce by the melt technology used for commercial titanium alloys. Powder processing technology does not require melting and thus circumvents the problems faced in ingot metallurgy such as inhomogeneity caused by the disparity of melting point and density between titanium and tungsten. Preliminary studies show that powder metal produced homogenous titanium-tungsten alloys have superior mechanical properties to the titanium alloys used in Dentistry with essentially equivalent passivity and no negative toxicological effects. In the Phase I research, two promising alloys will be manufactured and evaluated to demonstrate that the properties of these titanium tungsten alloys are superior to existing titanium Dental alloys. The evaluation will include tensile tests, metallographic analyses, elastic modulus tests and tests of galling resistance. Fracture toughness tests by four point bend and fatigue tests of Dental implant test specimens will be conducted at Boston University School of Dental Medicine. Phase II and III will include in-depth evaluations of selected material properties (including evaluation of mechanical, surface and biocompatibility), and the design and manufacture of prototype components for clinical trials in collaboration with Dental industry partners. These novel Ti compositions have the potential to meet the current need of the Dental implant industry for strong, ductile implant materials with excellent fracture toughness, fatigue resistance, galling resistance and biocompatibility. This development will lead to reducing the incidence of catastrophic implant failures and facilitate the future development of improved minimally invasive Dental systems. Public Health Significance: The future of oral reconstruction Dentistry will require materials with superior properties. In addition, although oral reconstruction devices are reliable, fractures do occur with current materials. The proposed innovative high performance titanium alloys with improved properties would contribute to the development of new reconstructive devices and significantly reduce the number of fractures saving time, expense and sparing patients additional discomfort.
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