Evaluation of the mechanical properties of the bone-implant interface in dental implants

Skin-penetrating bone-anchored implants are used in a variety of applications to provide tremendous functional benefits to patients. Globally, the dental implant industry has been valued at 5.08 billion USD where implants are used for replacing single teeth, for larger prostheses, and for full dental arches. The success of these implants relies on a structural integration between the implant and the living bone. Evaluation of the integrity of the bone-implant interface is important to prescribe loading, to identify the risk of failure, and to monitor the long-term health of the implant. However, the currently available approaches for monitoring dental implant stability are sensitive to the geometry of the attached components, do not adequately isolate the properties at the bone-implant interface, and cannot be used with cemented tooth crowns. The proposed research makes use of an experimental-numerical approach to provide a non-invasive measure of dental implant stability. The benefits to the partner organization will be the development of a clinically useful tool for monitoring implant stability that may potentially be commercialized and marketed world-wide.

Faculty Supervisor:

Lindsey Westover

Student:

Andrew Archibald

Partner:

Glenrose Hospital

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Health care and social assistance

University:

University of Alberta