Fabrication of an All-Ceramic Implant by Slip Casting of Nanoscale Zirconia Powder

Abstract

Dental implants are typically composed of 3Y-TZP (3 mol% yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals). Most dental zirconia implants are currently fabricated via mechanical machining. However, during the machining of zirconia green bodies, many cracks form on the surface. To prevent surface crack formation on the implants, shape forming of the zirconia is necessary using methods such as slip casting. Herein, we fabricated green compacts using slip casting, candidate forming process to reduce surface cracking. To fabricate an optimal 3Y-TZP implant by slip casting and sintering, we prepared a suitable 3Y-TZP slurry for slip casting by adjusting the viscosity via pH, dispersant agent content, and solid loading refinement. Green compacts were prepared by the slip casting of all-ceramic zirconia implants fabricated using optimal slurry conditions, for example, 60 wt% solid content, 1 wt% dispersant, pH 12 and post-sintering at 1450 °C for 2 h. All sintered bodies contained a tetragonal phase with a high sintered density of approximately 6.07 g/cm3, good mechanical hardness of approximately 1367 Hv, grain size of 220 nm, and high surface roughness without cracks.