PEEK Implants

Dental implants make one of the most viable replacements for missing tooth. Titanium has been the material of choice for dental implants ,since its introduction by Branemark. However, titanium lacks certain important properties. There are reported cases of hypersensitivity to material. The difference in elastic moduli of Titanium and surrounding bone, leads to stress shielding and bone resorption. PEEK-based materials can overcome these problems and can be a viable substitute to titanium. It is a homopolymer having a single monomer.PEEK is an inert material highly compatible with surrounding tissues and do not exhibit any toxic or mutagenic effects. Therefore, it can be an ideal substitute for patients allergic to titanium and other metals. PEEK does not have metallic color; it is beige with a touch of grey and has more aesthetic appearance . Major benefit of PEEK as an implant material is its Young's modulus which is close to human bone, thus it can generate favorable stress and deformations minimizing stress shielding effect and bone resorption.