Nanocoating of montmorillonite/Mg-β-tricalcium phosphate on orthodontic titanium miniscrews

Mini-implants (1-2 mm in diameter) are miniscrews that are placed in the jaw bones to help orthodontists move teeth in a controlled manner. The reasons behind their increasing popularity over the past decade is that mini-implants are easily placed and removed under local anaesthetic and can withstand up to 300 g force. Unfortunately, their high rate of failure (10-30%) poses a problem to clinicians and their patients alike. Advances in the field of nanotechnology presented a wide range of solutions to biological problems. We developed a nanocoating of nanoclay reinforced magnesium substituted ß-TCP on titanium surface to enhance the stability of orthodontic miniscrews.