BIOCOMPATIBILITY OF SOME CERAMIC MATERIALS FOR CLINICAL APPLICATIONS

The purpose of this study was to define the state-of-art regarding the biocompatibility characteristics, in vivo and in vitro, of some ceramic materials. A comprehensive search in Pubmed, Cochrane and Google Scholar databases was performed. Ceramic materials are made of an inorganic non-metallic oxide. Depending on their in vivo behaviour, ceramics are classified as bioresorbable, bioreactive or bioinert. Alumina and zirconia are bioinert ceramics; their low reactivity together with their good mechanical features has led them to be used in many biomedical restorative devices. Their most popular application is in arthroprosthetic joints where they have proven to be very effective, thus making their use suitable especially in younger, more active patients. Also the use of these materials in dentistry was proposed to achieve aesthetic and reliability of dental repairs. Ceramic materials in different physical states (powder and solid ) were used to perform in vitro tests on cell cultures. In vitro assays are influenced by material characteristics, such as the physical state, reactive surface, chemical composition, impurity content etc, as well as by the cell conditions during the tests. Zirconium oxide is also used as a dental restorative material. Ceramic restorations allow an aesthetical outcome more similar to natural teeth than conventional metal-ceramic ones. Zirconia’s resilience and its similar colour to teeth have led to the use of this material for different purposes. The most interesting application of this material is nowadays for fixed partial dentures. Mechanical resistance of zirconia FPD was studied on single tooth restorations and on partial dentures. Alumina matrix composites were selected as the best new family of ceramics to provide the foundation for the widespread use of ceramics in orthopedics. Our analysis confirms the role of zirconia and even more of alumina matrix composites as optimal metal-free materials for implant- prosthetical components used in orthopedics, dentistry and other medical areas. Level of Evidence: V