Stress analysis in bone tissue around single implants with different diameters and veneering materials: A 3-D finite element study

• Different occlusal materials do not influence the stress distribution.
• An increase in diameter is a beneficial factor for stress distribution.
• Oblique loading was more detrimental to stress distribution.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the stress distribution on bone tissue with a single prosthesis supported by implants of large and conventional diameter and presenting different veneering materials using the 3-D finite element method. Sixteen models were fabricated to reproduce a bone block with implants, using two diameters (3.75 × 10 mm and 5.00 × 10 mm), four different veneering materials (composite resin, acrylic resin, porcelain, and NiCr crown), and two loads (axial (200 N) and oblique (100 N)). For data analysis, the maximum principal stress and von Mises criterion were used. For the axial load, the cortical bone in all models did not exhibit significant differences, and the trabecular bone presented higher tensile stress with reduced implant diameter. For the oblique load, the cortical bone presented a significant increase in tensile stress on the same side as the loading for smaller implant diameters. The trabecular bone showed a similar but more discreet trend. There was no difference in bone tissue with different veneering materials. The veneering material did not influence the stress distribution in the supporting tissues of single implant-supported prostheses. The large-diameter implants improved the transference of occlusal loads to bone tissue and decreased stress mainly under oblique loads. Oblique loading was more detrimental to distribution stresses than axial loading.

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