The combined action of UV irradiation and chemical treatment on the titanium surface of dental implants

•A combined UV irradiation and H2O2 treatment was applied to titanium surfaces.•A thin, homogeneous, not porous, crack-free and bioactive oxide layer was obtained.•The process significantly improves the biological response of titanium surfaces.•A clinical case demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed treatment. The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative treatment for titanium dental implants, aimed at faster and more effective osteointegration. The treatment has been performed with the use of hydrogen peroxide, whose action was enhanced by concomitant exposure to a source of ultraviolet light. The developed surface oxide layer was characterized from the physical and chemical points of view. Moreover osteoblast-like SaOS2 cells were cultured on treated and control titanium surfaces and cell behavior investigated by scanning electron microscope observation and gene expression measurements. The described process produces, in only 6min, a thin, homogeneous, not porous, free of cracks and bioactive (in vitro apatite precipitation) oxide layer. High cell density, peculiar morphology and overexpression of several genes involved with osteogenesis have been observed on modified surfaces. The proposed process significantly improves the biological response of titanium surfaces, and is an interesting solution for the improvement of bone integration of dental implants. A clinical application of the described surfaces, with a 5 years follow-up, is reported in the paper, as an example of the effectiveness of the proposed treatment.