Surface modification of zirconia dental implants by laser texturing

The aim of this work was to perform an integrative literature review on the influence of laser irradiation on zirconia implants to enhance surface topographic aspects and the biological response for osseointegration. An electronic search was carried out on the PubMed database using the following search terms: “zirconia” AND “laser” AND “surface modification” OR “surface treatment” AND “dental implants” OR “bone” OR “osteoblast” OR “osseointegration.” Of the identified articles, 12 studies were selected in this review. Results reported that the laser irradiation was capable of promoting changes on the zirconia surfaces regarding topographic aspects, roughness, and wettability. An increase in roughness was recorded at micro- and nano-scale and it resulted in an enhanced wettability and biological response. Also, adhesion, spreading, proliferation, and differentiation of osteogenic cells were also enhanced after laser irradiation mainly by using a femtosecond laser at 10nJ and 80 MHz. After 3 months of osseointegration, in vivo studies in dogs revealed a similar average percentage of bone-to-implant contact (BIC) on zirconia surfaces (around 47.9 ± 16%) when compared to standard titanium surfaces (61.73 ±16.27%), denoting that there is no significant difference between such different materials. The laser  approach revealed several parameters that can be used for zirconia surface modification such as irradiation intensity, time, and frequency. Laser irradiation parameters can be optimized and well-controlled to reach desirable surface morphologic aspects and biological response concerning the osseointegration process.