Biomechanical properties of a dental implant design with micromovement: A finite element analysis

Dental implants are the most common treatment modality in rehabilitations of missing teeth. Biomechanisms of osseointegration provide direct bone to implant contact, and achieving this is a fundamental success criterion. Even though, dental implants may act like natural teeth in many aspects, the intertwined relationship between the bone tissue and implant causes biomechanical variations. These variations also limit and narrow the indication of tooth-to-implant prosthetic restorations. The absence of periodontal ligaments and periodontal space cause occlusal forces of prosthesis to be directly exerted to bone and, the rigid connection within the implant and bone causes these occlusal forces to be densified specifically on crestal region. This densification is underlined as a reason for the peri-implant bone resorption. There are several design solutions in order to improve the biomechanical properties of implants. However, none of these are clinically proven. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the movement patterns, stress distribution and biomechanical behavior of this novel dental implant design with micro-movement to standard implants and natural teeth. For these purpose, a three-dimensional finite element stress analysis has been used. The results of this study revealed that the novel dental implant design was able to eliminate deficiencies of standard dental implant and showed close characteristics with natural tooth in biomechanical aspect.