Wettability of Different Zirconia Implant Surfaces after Glycine and Erythritol Treatment.

Purpose: To investigate whether the wettability of two zirconia (Zr) implant disk surfaces is affected by glycine and erythritol air polishing using the following wetting solutions as test mediums: saline, bovine serum albumin (BSA), bovine thrombin, and bovine artificial blood.

Materials and methods: The two types of Zr disks used were SDS (Swiss Dental Solutions; n = 6) and Patent (Zircon Medical AG; n = 6). Surface parameters (Sa, Sz, Sdr, Ssk, Sku, and Spd) were measured to determine their initial surface roughness. Air polishing was completed using glycine or erythritol powders using the AIRFLOW PERIO device (EMS Dental). The wettability of the disk surfaces was evaluated by the contact angle analysis applied to the treated and untreated disks using four wetting solutions, including saline, BSA, bovine thrombin, and bovine artificial blood. In total, 720 contact angle measurements were completed with n = 30 per group. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA and the post-hoc Tukey HSD test.

Results: The results indicate that SDS has a greater wettability than Patent before and after air polishing. The wettability of surfaces treated with glycine was hydrophobic in some cases. Erythritol increased the surface wettability of Zr disks more than glycine. BSA and bovine artificial blood had lower contact angles than saline and bovine thrombin for both types of untreated disks.

Conclusions: The initial wettability of Zr disks differs between manufacturers, and air polishing with erythritol powder increases the wettability of Zr implant disks for saline, bovine serum, bovine thrombin, and bovine artificial blood.