The purpose of decontamination treatment is to clean the surface of the implants as thoroughly as possible, until reaching the maximum level of cleanliness compatible with the given atmosphere. The process must therefore remove all contaminating agents introduced during the operation and begin with a series of washes whose purpose is to eliminate the greater part of the contamination. This stage is done through ultrasonic baths and a series of solvents/degreasers.
Although the process of decontamination of the implants performed up until now by the Titanmed Chemical Laboratory has shown absolute effectiveness over the years as far as chemical cleaning of the surface, the company once again has followed its natural tendency to seek excellency and has equipped itself with a PLASMA REACTOR. Indeed, this sophisticated machine is capable of yielding the best results possible today as far as cleaning the surface of dental implants.
The traditional process of decontamination using liquid cleaning agents that remove non-organic contaminants already guarantees alone the removal of dross from the operation like carbon and alumina, universally considered possible causes of the failure of osseointegration of the implants.
Instead, the organic contaminants on the surface of the implants may be removed by gaseous decontaminant elements, to be applied with an electro-chemical process carried out precisely with a plasma reactor. The reactor is equipped with an internal chamber that contains the implants and in which a flow of inert Argon gas ions is conducted at high power. By effect of the bombardment of ions, even the organic particles stuck down in the roughness of the surface can be reached and removed.
Titanmed made a major investment for this innovation, and it was made technically possible thanks to intense teamwork. Indeed, the project was coordinated by Titanmed's Technical Office and conducted in close collaboration with the Politecnico di Torino, Turin University and the Technical Office of the reactor's manufacturer. Specifically, after the research and monitoring of the results carried out by the Department of Applied Sciences and Technology of the Politecnico di Torino and the Department of Surgical Sciences CIR Dental School of the University of Turin, the manufacturer modified certain standard characteristics of the reactor to use construction materials more suitable to dental use. This research also concerned fine-tuning of the procedure, up through the definition of the optimal makeup and the parameters used by the reactor.
After the approval of the outcome of the final tests performed on the implants, the reactor is released from the experimental stage, and becomes operational in the white chamber of the plant in Galbiate.
The application of the traditional process of decontamination, combined with the use of the reactor, made it possible to reach values that for Titanmed and the partners involved in the project were reason for great satisfaction and pride. As stated in the report on the RT-PCR analysis performed by the Politecnico di Torino in order to detect the presence of pro-inflammatory contaminants on the surface, the values entered for the Titanmed implants are in line with those of implants produced by one of the most prestigious brands in the world and that indicated in the body of literature. The reports on the tests performed may be consulted in the technical area of the site.
