Three-dimensional finite-element analysis of osseointegrated dental implants

In this paper the biomechanical interaction between osseointegrated dental implants and bone is investigated by numerical simulations. The influence of some mechanical and geometrical parameters on bone stress distributions is highlighted and some risk-measures relevant to critical overloading are furnished. Load transfer mechanisms of several dental implants are analyzed by means of linearly elastic finite-element analyses, when static functional loads occur. For a given implant the variation of its performance with the placement is investigated, considering insertions both in mandibular and maxillary molar segments. The mechanical properties of the bone regions (cortical and cancellous) are approximated with those of a type II bone and the geometry of crestal bone loss after an healing period is modelled. Five commercially-available dental implants are analyzed, demonstrating as the optimal choice of an endosseous implant is strongly affected by a number of shape parameters as well as by anatomy and mechanical properties of the site of placement. Numerical results clearly proof as a given implant device exhibits very different performance on mandibular or maxillary bone segments, resulting in higher compressive stresses when maxillary placement is experienced. Finally, the effectiveness of several multiple-implant restorative applications is investigated. The first one is related to a partially edentulous arch restoration, based on a double-implant device involving a retaining bar. Other applications regard single-tooth restorations based on non-conventional devices consisting in a mini-bar supported by two mini endosteal implants, possibly reproducing the natural roots orientation of a multiple-root tooth.