Dental implants need to support good osseointegration into the surrounding bone for full functionality. Interconnected porous structures have a lower stiffness and larger surface area compared with bulk structures, and therefore are likely to enable better bone-implant fixation. In addition, grading of the porosity may enable large pores for ingrowth on the periphery of an implant and a denser core to maintain mechanical properties. However, given the small diameter of dental implants it is very challenging to achieve gradations in porosity. This paper investigates the use of Selective Laser Melting (SLM) to produce a range of titanium structures with regular and graded porosity using various CAD models. This includes a novel ‘Spider Web’ design and lattices built on a diamond unit cell. Well-formed interconnecting porous structures were successfully developed in a one-step process. Mechanical testing indicated that the compression stiffness of the samples was within the range for cancellous bone tissue. Characterization by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT) indicated the designed porosities were well-replicated. The structures supported bone cell growth and deposition of bone extracellular matrix.

牙科植入物需要支持良好的骨整合到周围的骨头中，以实现全部功能。与整体结构相比，互连的多孔结构具有较低的刚度和较大的表面积，因此可能实现更好的骨植入物固定。另外，孔隙度的分级可以使得大的孔能够在植入物的外围上向内生长，并且致密的芯可以保持机械性能。但是，鉴于牙科植入物的直径较小，要实现孔隙度渐变非常具有挑战性。本文研究了选择性激光熔化（SLM）的使用各种CAD模型来生产一系列具有规则和渐变孔隙率的钛结构的方法。这包括新颖的“蜘蛛网”设计和建立在钻石晶胞上的格子。一步法成功开发出结构良好的互连多孔结构。机械测试表明，样品的抗压刚度在松质骨组织的范围内。通过扫描电子显微镜（SEM）和X射线微计算机断层扫描（μCT）进行表征，表明设计的孔隙度得到了很好的复制。该结构支持骨细胞生长和骨细胞外基质的沉积。