Stress transfer properties of different commercial dental implants: a finite element study.

Dental implantology has high success rates, and a suitable estimation of how stresses are transferred to the surrounding bone sheds insight into the correct design of implant features. In this study, we estimate stress transfer properties of four commercial implants (GMI, Lifecore, Intri and Avinent) that differ significantly in macroscopic geometry. Detailed three-dimensional finite element models were adopted to analyse the behaviour of the bone-implant system depending on the geometry of the implant (two different diameters) and the bone-implant interface condition. Occlusal static forces were applied and their effects on the bone, implant and bone-implant interface were evaluated. Large diameters avoided overload-induced bone resorption. Higher stresses were obtained with a debonded bone-implant interface. Relative micromotions at the bone-implant interface were within the limits required to achieve a good osseointegration. We anticipate that the methodology proposed may be a useful tool for a quantitative and qualitative comparison between different commercial dental implants.

An experimental study of the mouse skin behaviour: damage and inelastic aspects.

Samples of male and female mice skin were tested under monotonic and cyclic loading to mechanically characterize the tissue for large deformations. Cyclic tests have shown a typical Mullins effect widely known for elastomers and other soft tissues. No statistical difference was found in the maximum stretch of the sample after the fifth loading cycle for male (1.26 +/- 0.035) and female (1.18 +/- 0.083). However, larger dispersion was obtained for the maximum stress for both genders, 0.61 +/- 0.16 MPa for male and 0.78 +/- 0.32 MPa for female. Results show the presence of inelastic strain and stress softening in the skin at large deformations. They also have shown how stress softening and residual strain change with the magnitude of the applied load. Good correlation was observed between the residual strain and the maximum strain previously attained by the sample during loading for all samples. However, the correlation was different between genders.

Probabilistic analysis of the influence of the bonding degree of the stem-cement interface in the performance of cemented hip prostheses.

The long-term behavior of the stem-cement interface is one of the most frequent topics of discussion in the design of cemented total hip replacements, especially with regards to the process of damage accumulation in the cement layer. This effect is analyzed here comparing two different situations of the interface: completely bonded and debonded with friction. This comparative analysis is performed using a probabilistic computational approach that considers the variability and uncertainty of determinant factors that directly compromise the damage accumulation in the cement mantle. This stochastic technique is based on the combination of probabilistic finite elements (PFEM) and a cumulative damage approach known as B-model. Three random variables were considered: muscle and joint contact forces at the hip (both for walking and stair climbing), cement damage and fatigue properties of the cement. The results predicted that the regions with higher failure probability in the bulk cement are completely different depending on the stem-cement interface characteristics. In a bonded interface, critical sites appeared at the distal and medial parts of the cement, while for debonded interfaces, the critical regions were found distally and proximally. In bonded interfaces, the failure probability was higher than in debonded ones. The same conclusion may be established for stair climbing in comparison with walking activity.