Interaction effects among cortical bone, cancellous bone, and periodontal membrane of natural teeth and implants

Following the initial successes of Goldberg and Gershkoff (Dental Digest, 5, 11, 1947) with the placement of subperiosteal implants, interest in all types of implants emerged. As an aid to the evaluation of various designs and materials without resorting to clinical testing, finite element analyses are being conducted by a number of researchers to determine the stress system induced in bone. The present study investigates the effects of variation in the thicknesses of the periodontal membrane and cortical bone and of the model boundary on the stresses developed around a natural tooth or a tooth-shaped implant. The results show that strong effects due to the variation in these parameters can be expected. As a consequence, the problem of the analysis of any single implant must consider additional factors. These can influence overall implant design and may eventually help to explain what could appear as anomalies in clinical test results.