Predicting bone remodeling around tissue- and bone-level dental implants used in reduced bone width

The objective of this study was to predict time-dependent bone remodeling around tissue- and bone-level dental implants used in patients with reduced bone width. The remodeling of bone around titanium tissue-level, and titanium and titanium–zirconium alloy bone-level implants was studied under 100 N oblique load for one month by implementing the Stanford theory into three-dimensional finite element models. Maximum principal stress, minimum principal stress, and strain energy density in peri-implant bone and displacement in x- and y- axes of the implant were evaluated. Maximum and minimum principal stresses around tissue-level implant were higher than bone-level implants and both bone-level implants experienced comparable stresses. Total strain energy density in bone around titanium implants slightly decreased during the first two weeks of loading followed by a recovery, and the titanium–zirconium implant showed minor changes in the axial plane. Total strain energy density changes in the loading and contralateral sides were higher in tissue-level implant than other implants in the cortical bone at the horizontal plane. The displacement values of the implants were almost constant over time. Tissue-level implants were associated with higher stresses than bone-level implants. The time-dependent biomechanical outcome of titanium–zirconium alloy bone-level implant was comparable to the titanium implant.