Failure of Ti Plates for Oral and Maxillo-facial Surgery

The failure of titanium bone plates for oral and maxillo-facial surgery during usewas investigated. Microstructural examination of a titanium plate revealed the presence ofequiaxed a grains and intergranular platelets, which were identified as b phase. Fractographicexamination revealed that fracture happened by a transgranular cleavage mechanismassociated with secondary intergranular cracking (brittle fracture). Selective attack wasobserved to occur on the surfaces of the implant. These results indicated that the prematurefracture of the miniplate was caused by hydrogen embrittlement.