Fatigue behavior and osseointegration of porous Ti-6Al-4V scaffolds with dense core for dental application

Increasing research has supported the utilization of a porous Ti-6Al-4V (T64) scaffold for dental applications because of its low stiffness and well-constructed pore structure that allows for bone ingrowth. Selective laser melting (SLM) has enabled the fabrication of T64 lattice structures, but most studies indicate limited fatigue performance. In this study, porous scaffolds with dense cores of varying diameter were designed in order to test their effectiveness in enhancing the strength of the scaffold. The static mechanical properties and fatigue performance of the resulting SLM-printed T64 porous structures were systematically examined. The mechanisms of this design were analyzed using finite element (FE) simulation, and osseointegration responses were investigated by in vitro and in vivo tests. Our design was found to effectively balance the biological requirements (low stiffness and high porosity) and mechanical demands (high yield strength and high fatigue strength) of the SLM-fabricated T64 lattice structure, and shows good potential for application in dental implants.