Influence of diameter on mechanical behavior of morse taper narrow implants

Abstract

Dental implants could give back function, esthetics and quality of life to patients. The correct choice of the implant, especially in borderline cases, is essential for a satisfactory result. Aim: Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the mechanical behavior of Morse taper implants with two different prosthetic interfaces. Methods: Twenty self-locking Morse taper implants, 2.9 mm in diameter (FAC), and 20 Morse taper implants, 3.5 mm in diameter (CM) were divided into two groups (n=10), and submitted to strength to failure test, optical microscopic evaluation of fracture, metallographic analysis of the alloy, finite element analysis (FEA) and strain gauge test. A Student’s t test (α = 0.05) was made for a statistical analysis. Results: For the strength to failure test, a statistically difference was observed (p <0.001) between FAC (225.0 ± 19.8 N) and CM (397.3 ± 12.5 N). The optical microscopic evaluation demonstrated a fracture pattern that corroborated with FEA´s results. The metallographic analysis determined that the implants of the FAC group have titanium-aluminum-vanadium alloy in their composition. In the strain gauge test, there was no statistical difference (p = 0.833) between CM (1064.8 ± 575.04 μS) and FAC (1002.2 ± 657.6 μS) groups. Conclusion: Based on the results obtained in this study, ultra-narrow implants (FAC) should ideally be restricted to areas with low masticatory effort.