Purpose: To examine the effect of the attachment features (abutment height, retention, and freedom of rotation) of implant overdentures on the bending strain around implants under an overdenture.
Materials and Methods: Mandibular and maxillary edentulous models were fabricated and covered with silicone rubber. Strain gauges were attached to the four sides of each implant. Two implants (tissue-level implant, 4.1-mm diameter, 10-mm length) were placed bilaterally in the area between the mandibular canines and lateral incisors. A maxillary conventional denture and a mandibular overdenture were made to fit the edentulous models. Three levels of peri-implant bone resorption were created sequentially: no bone resorption, 0.8 mm, and 1.5 mm. Three kinds of attachments (magnetic, stud, and ball attachments) were used. Bending strains generated from a 98-N occlusal load through the maxillary denture were measured using a sensor interface, and the data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Bonferroni tests. Multiple regression analysis was used to find the relationship between independent variables (peri-implant bone resorption level, abutment height, retention, and freedom of rotation) and the dependent variable (bending strain).
Results: For all attachment types, the bending strains were smallest with no bone resorption and largest with 1.5-mm bone resorption (P < .05). Multiple regression analysis showed that abutment height had the greatest impact on the reduction of bending strain (beta = .413), followed by freedom of rotation (beta = −.349), and retention (beta = .107).
Conclusion: Low abutment height, large freedom of rotation, and low retention can minimize bending strain around implants.