Selection of dental implants based on masticatory load of the patient: A novel approach

Masticatory load and efficiency vary from one individual to other. Maximum load of one person may be the least load of another. Hence, optimization of dental implants based on the load dissipation of an individual is essential for a better prognosis of implant-supported prosthesis. The aim of the study was to find the appropriate implant dimensions for the particular region based on the masticatory efficiency of the individual.

A two-dimensional-threaded implant model was designed, which was duplicated in total 28 models with varying dimensions starting from 3 mm × 8 mm till 6 mm × 14 mm, with an incremental increase of 2 mm in length and 0.5 mm in diameter. All these implant models were surrounded in cancellous bone. Each implant model was loaded from 50 Newtons (N) to 700 N with an incremental increase of 50 N in load in vertical direction to the static model complex.

Von Mises stresses were calculated for all the models with different amount of load. The analysis showed that, with an increase in applied masticatory load the smaller dimensional implants showed more stress in the bone, with more stress concentration toward the crest of the implants, and in the apical bone, with respect to the ultimate stress capacity of bone.

Thus, based on the numerical analysis results, a classification was designed, which will indicate that for a particular amount of masticatory load, a particular dimension of implant has to be selected, rather than just selecting the implant based on the available bone and its dimensions without knowing the load the implant is going to take once it is loaded.