Process for providing a topography to the surface of a dental implant

Abstract

A process for providing a topography to the surface of a dental implant, said surface being made of a ceramic material. At least a part of the surface of the dental implant is etched with an etching solution comprising hydrofluoric acid at a temperature of at least 70° C. Thereby, discrete grains or agglomerates of grains are removed from the ceramic material.

1 . A process for providing a topography to the surface of a dental implant, said surface being made of a ceramic material, wherein at least a part of the surface of the dental implant is etched with an etching solution comprising hydrofluoric acid at a temperature of at least 70° C., thereby removing discrete grains or agglomerates of grains from the ceramic material. 
   
   
       2 . Process according to  claim 1 , the ceramic material having an average grain size from 0.1 μm to 0.6 μm. 
   
   
       3 . Process according to  claim 1  or  2 , the ceramic material being based on zirconia. 
   
   
       4 . Process according to  claim 3 , the ceramic material being yttria-stabilized zirconia. 
   
   
       5 . Process according to  claim 4 , the composition of the yttria-stabilized zirconia comprising 4.5 to 5.5 weight-% of Y 2 O 3  and less than 5 weight-% of HfO 2 , the total amount of ZrO 2 , Y 2 O 3  and HfO 2  being more than 99.0 weight-%. 
   
   
       6 . Process according to  claim 4 , wherein prior to the etching a roughness is provided to the surface of the dental implant by sandblasting, milling and/or injection molding techniques. 
   
   
       7 . Process according to  claim 4 , wherein the etching solution comprises at least 50 vol.-% of concentrated hydrofluoric acid. 
   
   
       8 . Process according to  claim 1 , wherein the etching solution further comprises at least one compound selected from the group consisting of phosphoric acid, nitric acid, ammonium fluoride, sulfuric acid, hydrogen peroxide and bromic acid. 
   
   
       9 . Process according to  claim 1 , wherein the etching solution further comprises sulfuric acid in an amount of 50 vol.-% at most. 
   
   
       10 . Process according to  claim 4 , wherein the etching is performed for 1 minute to 60 minutes. 
   
   
       11 . Process according to  claim 4 , wherein the etching is followed by washing the dental implant, the washing comprising the subsequent step or the subsequent steps of
 c) rinsing the dental implant with a NaCl solution and/or   d) rinsing the dental implant with deionized water.   
   
   
       12 . Dental implant obtainable by the process of  claim 4 . 
   
   
       13 . Dental implant according to  claim 12 , the dental implant being a one-part dental implant.