Mechanical property of Ti6Al4V cylindrical porous structure for dental implants fabricated by selective laser melting

Abstract

The commonly used titanium alloy dental implants currently apply solid structures. However, issues such as stress shielding and stress concentration may arise due to the significant difference in elastic modulus between the implant and host. In order to address these problems, this paper proposes five porous structures based on the Gibson-Ashby theoretical model. We utilized selective laser melting technology to shape a porous structure using Ti-6Al-4V material precisely. The mechanical properties of the porous structure were verified through simulation and compression experiments. The optimal porous structure, which best matched the human bone, was a circular ring structure with a pillar diameter of 0.6 mm and a layer height of 2 mm. The stress and strain of the porous implant on the surrounding cortical and cancellous bone under different biting conditions were studied to verify the effectiveness of the optimal circular ring porous structure in alleviating stress shielding in both standard and osteoporotic bone conditions. The results confirm that the circular ring porous structure meets implant requirements and provides a theoretical basis for clinical dental implantation.