In silico evaluation of the stress fields on the cortical bone surrounding dental implants: Comparing root-analogue and screwed implants

• Published in: Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials Vol. 104; p. 103667
• Main Authors: Dantas, T.A., Carneiro Neto, J.P., Alves, J.L., Vaz, Paula C.S., Silva, F.S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2020
• Subjects: Adolescent; Computer Simulation; Cortical Bone; Dental Implants; Dental Stress Analysis; Finite Element Analysis; Humans; Immediate load; Minimally invasive approach; Peri-implant bone loss; Root-analogue implants; Stress, Mechanical; Zirconia; Zirconia; Peri-implant bone loss; Root-analogue implants; Minimally invasive approach; Finite element analysis; Immediate load
• ISSN: 1751-6161; 1878-0180
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2020.103667

Tooth loss is a problem that affects both old and young people. It may be caused by several conditions, such as poor oral hygiene, lifestyle choices or even diseases like periodontal disease, tooth grinding or diabetes. Nowadays, replacing a missing tooth by an implant is a very common process. However, many limitations regarding the actual strategies can be enumerated. Conventional screwed implants tend to induce high levels of stress in the peri-implant bone area, leading to bone loss, bacterial bio-film formation, and subsequent implant failure. In this sense, root-analogue dental implants are becoming promising solutions for immediate implantation due to their minimally invasive nature, improved bone stress distribution and because they do not require bone drilling, sinus lift, bone augmentation nor other traumatic procedures. The aim of this study was to analyse and compare, by means of FEA, the stress fields of peri-implant bone around root-analogue and screwed conventional zirconia implants. For that purpose, one root-analogue implant, one root-analogue implant with flaps, two conventional implants (with different threads) and a replica of a natural tooth were modelled. COMSOL was used to perform the analysis and implants were subjected to two simultaneous loads: 100 N axially and 100 N oblique (45°). revealed that root-analogue implants, namely with flaps, should be considered as promising alternatives for dental implant solutions since they promote a better stress distribution in the cortical bone when compared with conventional implants. [Display omitted] •In this study 4 different implant geometries were modelled: 2 conventional threaded implants and 2 root-analogue implants.•Implant displacement, von Mises stresses, hydrostatic pressure and shear strain were assessed.•Results showed that root-analogue implants induce a better distribution of the von Mises stresses along the cortical bone.•The five tested models were mainly subjected to shear strain values within the physiological parameters.•Root-analogue implants seem to be a promising solution, overcoming the limitations of the threaded conventional implants.