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Abstract
In the present work the structural behaviour of a mandible with a dental implant, considering a unilateral occlusion, is numerically analysed by means of the Finite Element Method (FEM) and the Boundary Element Method (BEM). The mandible, whose CAD model was obtained by computer tomography scans, is considered as completely edentulous and only modelled in the zone surrounding the implant. The material behaviour of bone is assumed as isotropic linear elastic or, alternatively, as orthotropic linear elastic. With reference to the degree of osteo-integration between the implant and the mandibular bone, a partial osteo-integration is considered; consequently a nonlinear contact analysis is performed, with allowance for friction at the interface between implant and bone. A model of a commercial dental implant is digitised by means of optical 3D scanning process and fully reconstructed in all its geometrical features. Special attention is drawn to the mathematical reconstruction of the CAD model in order to facilitate the meshing process in the BEM environment and reduce the geometrical imperfections generated during the CAD to CAE translation process. The results of FEM and BEM analyses in terms of stress distribution on the mandible are compared in order to benchmark the two methodologies against accuracy and pre-processing efforts.
Highlights
Endosteal dental implants can cause resorption in the surrounding bone, leading to gradual loosening and to a complete loss of the implant; in particular a direct correlation was found between overstressed regions and bone resorption [1]
Stress distribution in the bone strongly depends on the implant shape so it becomes of uttermost importance to test different commercial implants in order to devise the configuration providing the lowest possible stress concentration in the bone, thereby reducing the resorption risk
The virtual model of the dental implant can be generated by using high density optical scanners providing a dense point data set, which is used to create a tessellated/polygonal model that can be converted into a CAD model by fitting patch surfaces following the common reverse engineering (RE) procedures
Summary
Endosteal dental implants can cause resorption in the surrounding bone, leading to gradual loosening and to a complete loss of the implant; in particular a direct correlation was found between overstressed regions and bone resorption [1]. Stress distribution in the bone strongly depends on the implant shape so it becomes of uttermost importance to test different commercial implants in order to devise the configuration providing the lowest possible stress concentration in the bone, thereby reducing the resorption risk. In [2] authors studied the stress distribution on endosseous dental implant and surrounding bone, by using both Finite Element Method (FEM) and Boundary Element Method (BEM) in a three dimensional modelling approach. In [7] the biomechanical behaviour, in terms of stress concentration and distribution, of different commercial dental implants with different thread profiles was studied with FEM, All these studies require the modelling of the dental implant and of the surrounding bone topology. The virtual model of the dental implant can be generated by using high density optical scanners providing a dense point data set, which is used to create a tessellated/polygonal model that can be converted into a CAD model by fitting patch surfaces following the common reverse engineering (RE) procedures
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