Biomechanical determinants of the stability of dental implants: influence of the bone-implant interface properties

Dental implants are now widely used for the replacement of missing teeth in fully or partially edentulous patients and for cranial reconstructions. However, risks of failure, which may have dramatic consequences, are still experienced and remain difficult to anticipate. The stability of biomaterials inserted in bone tissue depends on multiscale phenomena of biomechanical (bone-implant interlocking) and of biological (mechanotransduction) natures. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the biomechanical behavior of the bone-dental implant interface as a function of its environment by considering in silico, ex vivo and in vivo studies including animal models as well as clinical studies. The biomechanical determinants of osseointegration phenomena are related to bone remodeling in the vicinity of the implants (adaptation of the bone structure to accommodate the presence of a biomaterial). Aspects related to the description of the interface and to its space-time multiscale nature will first be reviewed. Then, the various approaches used in the literature to measure implant stability and the bone-implant interface properties in vitro and in vivo will be described. Quantitative ultrasound methods are promising because they are cheap, non invasive and because of their lower spatial resolution around the implant compared to other biomechanical approaches.