The responses of human gingival fibroblasts to magnesium‐doped titanium

Abstract The titanium (Ti) implant is widely used in implant dentistry; yet peri‐implantitis has always been one of the most common and serious complications. Here, we demonstrated that magnesium‐doping would be an effective way of enhancing the integration between implant surfaces and gingival tissues, which is critical to peri‐implant health. The magnesium (2.76–6.35 at %) was immobilized onto the titanium substrate by a magnesium plasma immersion ion implantation (Mg‐PIII) technique. Mg‐PIII treatments did not alter surface topographies of the original titanium substrate but improved its hydrophilicity. The in vitro study including cell viability, adhesion, proliferation, migration, and real‐time polymerase chain reaction assays disclosed improved adhesion, proliferation, migration, and extracellular matrix remodeling abilities of human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) on the magnesium‐doped titanium. The results of western blot suggested that the Mg‐modified titanium induced the phosphorylation of AKT through the activation of PI3K. Our results revealed that magnesium‐doping would potentially enhance soft tissue sealings by promoting cellular functions of HGFs in a dose‐dependent manner, boding well for its applications on surfaces of implant necks in early peri‐implant soft tissue integrations.