Does the Length of Mini Dental Implants Affect Their Resistance to Failure by Overloading?

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the failure resistance of different lengths of mini dental implants from the same manufacturer, and to assess their failure following overloading. Materials and Methods: According to the ISO 14801, 15 mini dental implants 2.4 mm in diameter, with lengths of 8.5 mm, 10 mm, or 13 mm, were subjected to compression loading until failure using a universal testing machine. The mean load-to-failure values for each length of the mini dental implants were calculated and analysed using SPSS®, via one-way ANOVA (p < 0.05). Results: The mean load to failure for mini dental implants was 329 N (SD 6.23), 326 N (SD 5.95), and 325 N (SD 6.99) for the 13 mm, 10 mm, and 8.5 mm implants, respectively. A comparison of means showed no significant difference between the groups (p = 0.70). The tested mini dental implants exhibited bending failure modes below the first thread. Conclusion: Under high compressive loading testing, there was no effect of the length on the failure of the mini dental implants following overloading. Moreover, all tested mini dental implants with different lengths showed the same failure mode and distortion location.