Purpose: While dental implants have displayed high success rates, poor mechanical fixation is a common complication, and their biomechanical response to occlusal loading remains poorly understood. This study aimed to develop and validate a computational model of a natural first premolar and a dental implant with matching crown morphology, and quantify their mechanical response to loading at the occlusal surface.
Materials and methods: A finite-element model of the stomatognathic system comprising the mandible, first premolar and periodontal ligament (PDL) was developed based on a natural human tooth, and a model of a dental implant of identical occlusal geometry was also created. Occlusal loading was simulated using point forces applied at seven landmarks on each crown. Model predictions were validated using strain gauge measurements acquired during loading of matched physical models of the tooth and implant assemblies.
Results: For the natural tooth, the maximum vonMises stress (6.4 MPa) and maximal principal strains at the mandible (1.8 mε, -1.7 mε) were lower than those observed at the prosthetic tooth (12.5 MPa, 3.2 mε, and -4.4 mε, respectively). As occlusal load was applied more bucally relative to the tooth central axis, stress and strain magnitudes increased.
Conclusion: Occlusal loading of the natural tooth results in lower stress-strain magnitudes in the underlying alveolar bone than those associated with a dental implant of matched occlusal anatomy. The PDL may function to mitigate axial and bending stress intensities resulting from off-centered occlusal loads. The findings may be useful in dental implant design, restoration material selection, and surgical planning.
Keywords: Biomechanical model; Dental occlusion; Finite element analysis; Periodontal ligament; Premolar.