Evaluation of metals contained in the dental implant in the hair and nail of dental implant patients

Evaluatıon of Metals Contained in the Dental Implant in the Hair and Nail of Dental Implant Patients The purpose of this research, evaluation of titanium (Ti), aluminum (Al) and vanadium (V) element levels that may accumulate with time in hair and nail tissues of patients after dental implant application made from grade 5 titanium alloy. Our work consists of a single group of 33 individuals. The amounts of Ti, Al, V in the hair and nail specimens collected before and after the dental implant application were evaluated. After dental implant application, the second specimens were collected 6-13 months later. Minimum 2, maximum 16 implants were applied as the number of implants(contact area minimum 378,62mm2, maximum 3264,64mm2). 14 women, 19 men participated in our study. Individuals are between 18-57 years of old and the average age is 43,848. Evaluation of elements levels in hair and nail specimens were analyzed with Inductive Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS, Agilent 7800). Descriptive statistical methods (mean, median, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values) were used in the evaluation of the data, Wilcoxon Signed and Kolmogrov-Smirnov tests were used during the construction of the statistic. In our study, after applying dental implants; nail Ti value increased significantly (p <0.05) and although the mean values of Al and V were increased we found that this increase was statistically insignificant (p> 0.05). Although there were mean values increase for Ti, Al, V elements in the hair, we found this increase was not statistically significant (p> 0,05). As a result, in hair and nail of dental implant (made of grade 5 titanium alloy) patients Ti, Al, V elements increase. We can say that Ti, accumulates in the nail tissue . For Ti, Al, V elements, hair and nail tissues may be thought as elimination way. Keywords: Dental implant, element levels, Ti-6Al-4V, corrosion, hair, nail, ICP-MS