Effect of Surface Preparation and Passivation Treatment on Surface Topography of Ti6Al4V for Dental Implants

The major goal of our research work is to develop an effective and efficient procedure to prepare surfaces with an average surface roughness Ra of 1...2,5 μm and a proper surface topography, as the morphology of dental implant surface is of extreme importance in the process of implant osseointegration. The aim of present research was to elucidate the effect of surface preparation and passivation treatment on topography of Ti6Al4V surfaces for dental implants, and to perform an efficient procedure, in terms of process time. Thirty samples were prepared, some samples were subjected to sand blasting, all samples were acid etched using a dual bath of H2SO4 1n and HCl 1n (1:1) at different temperatures (60°C, 80°C, and 100°C) using different process durations (1 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h). After acid etching procedure some samples were passivated in 30% HNO3 at room temperature, for 15 min. Scanning electron microscopy was performed in order to characterize the topography of the surfaces. We found that sand blasting and passivation treatment promotes the formation of a proper surface topography with large, smooth valleys (∼50 μm), different size large peaks (∼30 μm), and micropores (<10 μm) opened on the surface of valleys and peaks, required by a good osseointegration. We showed that the same proper morphology can be achieved by acid etching at different temperatures, using different process duration. The most efficient procedure takes place at 100°C, with process times of 1...3 hours.