Finite-Element Study of Biomechanical Explanations for Bone Loss around Dental Implants

Since the advent of osteointegrated implantology and its precepts issued by the Swedish School, assessment of peri-implant bone loss criteria has often been debated by professionals in this field. Long-term success of dental implants is highly reliant on structural and functional osseointegration between implant and surrounding intraoral tissues. In this context, the current study aims to provide biomechanical explanations for causes of bone loss around the dental implant after osseointegration by computational analysis, using a three-dimensional finite-element (FE) method. We design an approximate virtual model that includes the smooth, cylindrical dental implant and alveolar bone. We use SolidWorks software and export to ABAQUS for computational stress analysis at the bone-implant interface. The numerical model is created and loaded with a compressive occlusal force that is applied at the top of the implant platform. We thoroughly investigate the generated FE results and stress responses of the bone-implant system. The developed model is extremely useful for indicating biomechanical phenomena in the bone-implant interface that play a key part in bone loss around the dental implant. In addition, obtained results tend to deliver an improved understanding to designers in the biomedical engineering field and in dentistry.