Stress analysis of a fixed implant-supported denture by the finite element method (FEM) when varying the number of teeth used as abutments

OBJECTIVES: In some clinical situations, dentists come across partially edentulous patients, and it might be necessary to connect teeth to implants. The aim of this study was to evaluate a metal-ceramic fixed tooth/implant-supported denture with a straight segment, located in the posterior region of the maxilla, when varying the number of teeth used as abutments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A three-element fixed denture composed of one tooth and one implant (Model 1), and a four-element fixed denture composed of two teeth and one implant (Model 2) were modeled. A 100 N load was applied, distributed uniformly on the entire set, simulating functional mastication, for further analysis of the SEQV (Von Mises) principal stresses, which were compared with the flow limit of the materials. RESULTS: In a quantitative analysis, it may be observed that in the denture with one tooth, the maximum SEQV stress was 47.84 MPa, whereas for the denture with two teeth the maximum SEQV stress was 35.82 MPa, both located in the region between the pontic and the tooth. CONCLUSION: Lower stresses were observed in the denture with an additional tooth. Based on the flow limit of the materials, porcelain showed values below the limit of functional mastication

Comparison of strains for new generation CAD‐CAM implant‐supported crowns under loading

PURPOSE The behavior of implant-crowns fabricated from recently introduced CAD-CAM zirconia-reinforced lithium silicate ceramic (ZLS) or a hybrid ceramic containing resin-reinforced glass network (HC) for strains around the implant platform is not well-known. A force absorption capacity of the latter has been claimed by the manufacturer. The aim of this study was to measure and compare recently introduced ZLS and HC with commonly used CAD-CAM implant crown materials for strain distribution around the implant platform. METHODS Four implants (Legacy 1; Implant Direct) were placed into a resin block. Zirconia abutments (Straight contoured stock abutment; Implant Direct) were torqued into the implant fixtures to support crowns that were milled from a virtual design using four different CAD-CAM materials (Vita Suprinity PC (ZLS), Vita Enamix (HC), IPS Emax, ZirCAD Zirkonzahn) (N = 20). The crowns were cemented with a resin cement, loaded and strain values were recorded. Three-dimensional digital image correlation (3D-DIC) was used to measure compressive and tensile strains around the implant platforms. The tensile and compressive strains were recorded for each test and first analyzed for equality of variance using Levene's test, and further tested using a 2-way ANOVA repeated measures analysis of variance (α = .05). RESULTS The data analysis showed no statistically significant effect of crown material on the generated strains (P > .05). Compressive strains were significantly higher than the tensile strains (P < .05). One of the HC crowns fractured during loading. CONCLUSIONS Strains generated around implant platform when new generation CAD-CAM crown materials were used was similar to strains observed when CAD-CAM zirconia and lithium disilicate crowns were used. New generation crown materials did not have a significant load absorption effect to change or minimize the strains generated around the implant platform

Stress analysis on the free-end distal extension of an implant-supported mandibular complete denture

A comparative and qualitative analysis of the tensions generated in the cantilever region of an implant-supported mandibular complete denture was conducted using the three-dimensional finite element method. The mechanical properties of the components were input in the model and a load of 15 N was applied in pre-determined points. In the first simulation, the load was applied on the occlusal surface of the first premolar. In the second simulation, it was applied on the first and second premolars. In the third simulation, it was applied on the first and second premolars and on the first molar. The different occlusion patterns produced similar tension distributions in the cantilever region, which followed a similar pattern in the three simulations. In all of the cases, the highest levels of tension were located in the region of the first implant. However, as the loads were dislocated distally, the tensions increased considerably. The more extensive the cantilever, the more compromised will be the infrastructure, the prosthetic components and the implants. Regardless of the length of the cantilever, the highest tensions will always be located in the region of the implant next to the load application point