DOI: 10.11607/jomi.10859Language: EnglishHamada, Takumi / Gonda, Tomoya / Murase, Kohei / Maeda, Yoshinobu / Ikebe, Kazunori
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the mechanical influence of
edentulous mandibular morphology on peri-implant bone in implant prosthetics by
finite element analysis. Materials and Methods: Computed tomographic data from 25
patients with edentulous mandibles were selected and the radius of mandibular
curvature and the height of the mandible at the midline were measured in order to
clarify the morphological characteristics of the mandible. From the measurement, two
patients with the smallest and largest radii of the mandible were selected. Two types of
three-dimensional finite element models consisting of the edentulous mandible (small
and large radius), superstructure (a cantilever bridge), implants, and abutments were
created. Four implants were inserted between the right and left mental foramina. The
upper surface of the mandibular condyle was constrained, and a vertical load of 100 N
was applied on the occlusal surface of the right first molar. Three-dimensional finite
element analysis of each model was performed to examine the mechanical influence of
the edentulous mandibular morphology on the peri-implant bone. Results: Measurement
of mandibular morphology in CT images indicated that the lower the mandibular height
was, the larger was the radius of the anterior mandibular curvature. Finite element
analysis revealed that a higher equivalent stress was generated in the peri-implant bone
of the model with a larger radius of curvature than that of the model with a smaller
radius of curvature. The highest equivalent stress in the mandible was generated in the
distal margin of the peri-implant bone posterior to the loaded side of the large radius of
curvature model. Conclusions: The mandibular morphology had a mechanical influence
on the peri-implant bone.
