Numerical simulation of the remodelling process of trabecular architecture around dental implants

Abstract

Dental implants may alter the mechanical environment in the jawbone, thereby causing remodelling and adaptation of the surrounding trabecular bone tissues. To improve the efficacy of dental implant systems, it is necessary to consider the effect of bone remodelling on the performance of the prosthetic systems. In this study, finite element simulations were implemented to predict the evolution of microarchitecture around four implant systems using a previously developed model that combines both adaptive and microdamage-based mechano-sensory mechanisms in bone remodelling process. Changes in the trabecular architecture around dental implants were mainly focused. The simulation results indicate that the orientational and ladder-like architecture around the implants predicted herein is in good agreement with those observed in animal experiments and clinical observations. The proposed algorithms were shown to be effective in simulating the remodelling process of trabecular architecture around dental implant systems. In addition, the architectural features around four typical dental implant systems in alveolar bone were evaluated comparatively.

Keywords::

• dental implant
• bone remodelling
• trabecular architecture
• computer simulation

Acknowledgements

The project was supported by NSFC Grant (10925208, 11120101001), National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2011CB710901) and Innovation Foundation of BUAA for PhD Graduates.