PEEK as a Potential Material for Dental Implants and its Biomechanical Properties and Osteoblast Cell Response

Proper osseointegration is crucial for the success of dental and orthopedic implants. Titanium-6Aluminum-4Vanadium (TAV) is one of the most popular implant materials; however, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) has gained the interest of implant researchers and manufacturers over the past several years due to its lower modulus of elasticity compared to metallic implant materials. Porosity and patterned surface morphologies are thought to improve mechanical interlocking and play an important role in the differentiation of pre-osteoblasts into mature osteoblasts. This study aimed to determine the effects a macro patterned PEEK surface has on the material’s mechanical properties and the proliferation, differentiation, and maturation of pre-osteoblasts. Mechanical testing data indicated that the macro patterning improved the mechanical interlocking and has no detrimental effect on compression strength. DNA data and live/dead imaging showed that pre-osteoblasts on solid PEEK specimens did not readily differentiate but instead encouraged proliferation only. However, ALP data in comparison to the DNA data showed that cells on patterned PEEK specimens more readily entered the differentiation pathway to mineralization. This is further confirmed by the patterned PEEK specimens showing an overall higher amount of cell mineralization. Clinical significance: This study concludes that surface macro patterning of PEEK material increases the mechanical interlocking and enhances the osseointegration capability without diminishing mechanical properties.