Materials Science Forum, Vol.357-3, 47-52, 2001
Dental implant superstructures by superplastic forming
A novel application of superplastic farming is described for the production of fixed-bridge dental implant superstructures. Finite element analysis (FEA) has shown that Ti-6Al-4V sheet would be a suitable candidate material for the design of a fixed-bridge dental implant superstructure. Traditionally superstructures are cast in gold alloy onto pre-machined gold alloy cylinders but castings are often quite bulky and 25% of castings do not fit accurately (1) which means that sectioning and soldering is required to obtain a fit that is clinically acceptable and will not prejudice the integrity of the commercially pure cp-titanium implants osseointegrated with the bone. Superplastic forming is shown to be a forming technique that would allow the production of strong, light-weight components of thin section with low residual stress that could be suitable for such applications. Considerable cost savings over traditional dental techniques can be achieved using a low-cost ceramic die material. The properties of these die materials are optimised so that suitable components can be produced. Satisfactory hot strength is demonstrated and thermal properties are matched to those of the titanium alloy for accurate fit of the prosthesis.
Keywords:casting investments;dental implant superstructure;dental prostheses;dies;induction heater;superplasticity;titanium alloy