Biomechanical finite element analysis of small diameter and short dental implant

Abstract Short and mini dental implants have been widely used as treatment alternatives in certain selected clinical situations. However, a profound scientific analysis of the mechanical and biomechanical impact of the reduced length and diameter of these implant geometries has not been published until now. Using finite element analysis, a series of different experimentally designed short and mini implants have been analysed with regard to their load transfer to the alveolar bone and have been compared to respective standard commercial implants. Mini implants have been inserted in an idealised bone bed representing the anterior mandibular jaw region and loaded with a force of 150 N. An immediate loading condition was assumed and analysed using the contact analysis option of the FE package MSC.Marc/Mentat. Short implants were inserted in an idealised posterior bone segment and loaded in osseointegrated state with forces of 300 N. Clearly increased bone loading was observed for the short and mini dental implants compared with standard implants, clearly exceeding the physiological limit of 100 MPa. The determined biomechanical characteristics could explain the slightly increased failure rate of short and mini dental implants.