Our research group developed a novel nano-pitted (NP) TiO₂ surface on grade 2 titanium that showed good mechanical, osteogenic, and antibacterial properties; however, it showed weak hydrophilicity. Our objective was to develop a surface treatment method to enhance the hydrophilicity of the NP TiO₂ surface without the destruction of the nano-topography. The effects of dilute and concentrated orthophosphoric (H₃PO₄) and nitric acids were investigated on wettability using contact angle measurement. Optical profilometry and atomic force microscopy were used for surface roughness measurement. The chemical composition of the TiO₂ surface and the oxidation state of Ti was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The ccH₃PO₄ treatment significantly increased the wettability of the NP TiO₂ surfaces (30°) compared to the untreated control (88°). The quantity of the absorbed phosphorus significantly increased following ccH₃PO₄ treatment compared to the control and caused the oxidation state of titanium to decrease (Ti⁴⁺ → Ti³⁺). Owing to its simplicity and robustness the presented surface treatment method may be utilized in the industrial-scale manufacturing of titanium implants.

Nowadays, it is almost naturally taken among dentists that seemed unimaginable a few decades ago, namely that an inorganic material (titanium) inserted in an organic environment (bone) can be integrated and become a permanent pillar of prosthetics. Bone integration – meaning a structural and functional connection between the implant and the bone – itself was discovered and described in the late 1960s. This provides the basis of dental implantology. In those days, the conditions affecting the positive or negative course of bone integration have been formulated. This process is investigated at the level of basic research and rarely mentioned in the daily clinical practice. The material, form, and surface of the implant all contribute to success if we design well and apply the correct surgical technique. Our goal is to present the changes that have taken place over the past decades, which have resulted in an increasingly perfect integration and clinical success of implants. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(37): 1455–1463.