Zirconium and titanium surface treatment using non-thermal plasma for dentistry applications

The cold plasma reactors are more often used in the last decades in surface treatment and bio-decontamination. The aim of this paper is to present the GlidArc plasma effects on the material surfaces used in dentistry (zirconium and titanium plates). For the conducted tests two GlidArc reactors were used: the first one having two electrodes, producing a planar electrical discharge and the second one with three electrodes and volumic discharge. Keeping the treatment time constant (60 seconds) the nature of the blowing gas used (humid and dry air) and the distance between the plasma and the treating samples was modified. The surfaces were analyzed performing atomic force microscopy (AFM) in air at room temperature. Both topographical and adhesion force measurements were considered as parameters used for characterizing the morphological modifications of the surfaces induced by the plasma treatment.