Short implant to support maxillary restorations: bone stress analysis using regular and switching platform

Area of Science:

• Dental Implantology
• Biomaterials Science
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Dental implants are crucial for tooth replacement.
• Understanding stress distribution is vital for implant success.
• Peri-implant bone response varies with implant design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate stress distribution in peri-implant bone.
• To simulate the influence of implant length and platform type (regular vs. switching) on anterior maxilla bone.
• To utilize 3D finite element analysis for stress simulation.

Main Methods:

• Created four models of external hexagon implants (5.0 mm diameter) with varied lengths (15.0 mm long [L], 7.0 mm short [S]) and platform diameters (5.0 mm regular [R], 4.1 mm switching [S]).
• Utilized Mimics 11.11, SolidWorks 2010, and ANSYS Workbench 10.0 for modeling and analysis.
• Applied oblique forces (100 N) to the central incisor, assuming perfect bone/implant integration.

Main Results:

• Cortical bone exhibited highest stress in short switching (SS: 73.7 MPa), followed by long regular (LR: 65.1 MPa), short regular (SR: 63.6 MPa), and long switching (LS: 54.2 MPa).
• Trabecular bone showed highest stress in SS (8.87 MPa), followed by SR (8.32 MPa), LR (7.49 MPa), and LS (7.08 MPa).
• Switching platforms increased stress in cortical bone compared to regular platforms.

Conclusions:

• Switching platform design significantly influences stress distribution in peri-implant cortical bone.
• Longer implants generally result in lower stress values compared to shorter implants.
• The combination of long implants and switching platforms minimizes stress in the anterior maxilla.