Anchorage effects of a palatal osseointegrated implant with different fixation: a finite element study

The purpose of this study was to compare the anchorage effect of the osseointegrated implant with different fixation types using finite element analysis. Three fixation types were investigated. fixation type 1: implant neck in the oral-palatal cortical bone and implant tip in the cancellous bone; fixation type 2: implant neck in the oral-palatal cortical bone and implant tip in the nasal-palatal cortical bone; fixation type 3: implant neck in the oral-palatal cortical bone and implant tip projecting into the nasal cavity. Three finite element models were constructed. Each consisted of two maxillary second premolars, their associated periodontal ligament (PDL), alveolar bones, palatal bone, palatal implant, and a transpalatal arch. Another model without an implant was used to compare with the previous models. The horizontal force (mesial five N, palatal one N) was loaded at the buccal bracket of each second premolar. The stress was calculated in the PDL and implant surrounding bone. The result showed that the palatal implant could significantly reduce von Mises stress (maximum von Mises stress was reduced 30%) and evenly distribute stress in the PDL. The stress magnitude and distribution in the PDL was almost the same in the three implant models. These results suggest that different implant fixation types have almost the same anchorage effects.