Craniofacial Osseointegrated Implant-Induced Strain Distribution: A Numerical Study

Strain distributions that occur in the hard tissue in the region surrounding craniofacial osseointegrated implants are compared. Three commercially available implant designs were evaluated under both axial loading and axial loading with a moment in three bone configurations typical of the craniofacial region. The evaluations that used the finite element method indicated that for axial loading, the implant designs produced similar strain levels in each bone configuration. When moments as well as vertical loads were applied, the strains were three to seven times higher and variations among the designs were greater. The variations found were related to the amount of bone present in each situation, as well as the neck diameter of the implant involved.