Bioactive Interface Toward Long-Term Implants Integration to avoid Periimplantitis – BioImTitis

Dental implants are artificial tooth roots made of specific material with a part of the structure that cross the gingival mucosa and support a crown. Each year millions of implants are placed and a quarter of the adult population will be concerned in 2026. Bacterial infection occurs if the soft-tissue barrier that protect the alveolar bone from the outer environment is not strongly sealed to the implant and led to severe medical issue called peri-implantitis. That clinical problem, found in 20% of the cases, compromise the therapeutical solution and the economic costs associated is dramatic. It is crucial to resolve long-term dental implant biointegration. A versatile bioactive bifunctional medical grade coating - that will favor the integration with the surrounding tissue while preventing bacterial infections- with the potential to serve both in prevention than in treatment will be designed and developed at the implant surface. The evaluation of the bioactivity and the potential synergy of a low elastic modulus titanium alloy vs standard one will be evaluated. The opportunity to prevent peri-implantitis with the covering of the implant before implantation will be validated. The possibility to reapply in situ (in a clinical setting) the coating for the treatment of a peri-implantitis will be developed. This project is highly innovative in the field of oral implantology as we propose smart and versatile solutions to treat dental implant with the opportunities offered by low elastic modulus material to improve the stability of the bone-implant interface and the tuning of the deposition system of the bioactive coating layer, especially with the optimization of the spraying strategy, for easy clinical use and potential new method of re-treatment. This project synergizes the efforts of researchers, clinicians, and present a real potential of transfer with the implication of two companies commercially active in implant coatings and dental implant production respectively.