Dental

Through intensive cooperation with users of our previous bone replacement ceramic material, Lithoz has developed the new LithaBone HA 4803D-printed parts made from Hydroxyapatite are outstandingly bioresorbable, and thanks to important improvements they are ideally suited for bone augmentation in the dental field.

At KLS Martin, who has been a major user of 3D printed bone replacement implants since 2015, the new Lithoz material made a strong impression right away: "We've already had the opportunity to work with HA 480, and the results are outstanding: from the mechanical properties to the higher wall thicknesses to the size of the lattice structures, LithaBone HA 480 has convinced us of being a significant improvement over its predecessor." - Adem Aksu (Head of Biomaterials Development at KLS)

Dental implants are used as a base for replacing teeth. Using LCM technology, it is possible to manufacture even the most complex of implants in large numbers with high accuracy while still keeping costs low due to the highly efficient material usage.

Zirconia or lithium disilicate are the materials of choice for crowns, bridges and veneers. Both can be processed using LCM to achieve perfect results with unprecedented fissure quality, feather edges down to 100 μm and significantly minimized manual post-processing.

This endosseous dental implant can be used as a basic abutment to replace a missing tooth. With LCM technology, implants can be shaped in a very complex way. Existing standard designs (see illustration) can also be mass-produced with high strength and geometric fidelity.

Dental implants manufactured with LCM technology exhibit excellent surface quality even without post-processing ("as-fired"). The material used, 3 mol%-partially stabilized zirconia (3Y-TZP), offers excellent strength without compromising on aesthetics. Of course, materials such as ATZ (alumina-reinforced zirconia) and ZTA (zirconia-reinforced alumina) are also suitable for dental implants. Read article.

Critically large bone defects can be the result of severe trauma, such as comminuted fracture of the jaw or bone resection due to bone tumors. The challenge in treating such large defects is that the bone itself is unable to heal the defect without appropriate measures. Here, we present a dual approach in which both the cage made of high-strength zirconia, which adequately supports the healing phase, and the inner volume of the implant made of bioresorbable beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) are fabricated in a single 3D printing process.

The figure shows a use case in which β-TCP can be resorbed by the cells and replaced by newly formed bone. The zirconia cage can be left in place due to its excellent biocompatibility. 

An exceptional combination of biocompatibility, antibacterial and high-mechanical performances. With 3D printing there are no limitations to where the milling burst can get into. 3D printing patient-specific dental implants and inner threads in large number and in a highly reproducible manner is now possible with the CeraFab System S65 Medical.