Spectrochemical analysis of metals in gingival fluid of patients with dental implants and different prosthetic materials

Abstract

Titanium dental implants are in an electrolytic hostile media composed by bacterial colonies, gingival fluid, and inflamed tissues. It triggers an electrochemical degradation process known as corrosion. During this process, different ions are released to the media and to the organism from the implant. This can result in the degradation of the implant surface, i.e., increase of the roughness and decrease of the TiO2 protective layer. In addition, it leads to cytotoxic responses and inflammatory processes that can cause pathological conditions such as peri-implantitis.