Finite Element Analysis of Different Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polyetheretherketone Dental Implants in Implant-supported Fixed Denture

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of polyetheretherketone-based dental implants, and analyze the stress and strain around different kinds of dental implants by finite element analysis.

METHODS

The radiographic data was disposed to models in Mimics 19.0. 3D models of implants, crowns and jawbones were established and combined in SolidWorks 2018. Appling axial and oblique loads of 100 N, cloud pictures were exported in Ansys Workbench 18.0 to calculate and analyze the stress and strain in and around different implants.

RESULTS

Oblique load tended to deliver more stress to bone tissue than axial load. The uniformity of stress distribution was the best for 30% short carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone implants at axial and buccolingual directions. Stress shielding phenomenon occurred at the neck of 60% continuous carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone and titanium implants. Stress concentration appeared in PEEK implants and the load of bone tissue would aggravate.

CONCLUSIONS

30% short carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone implants demonstrate a more uniform stress distribution in bone-implant contact and surrounding bone than titanium. Stress shielding and stress concentration may be avoided in bone-implant interface and bone tissue. Bone disuse-atrophy may be inhibited in PEEK-based implants.

Fabrication and mechanical properties of different types of carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone: A comparative study

OBJECTIVES

To find alternative non-metallic materials as dental implants for clinical application, different types of carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone were fabricated and investigated.

METHODS

Continuous carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone fabrics were fabricated with polyetheretherketone fibers and carbon fibers. Different kinds of carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone were synthesized by setting specific experiment parameters of injection or hot press molding. Various mechanical tests were performed to determine the mechanical properties of different carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone, pure polyetheretherketone and pure titanium.

RESULTS

Polyetheretherketone composites presented outstanding mechanical and thermal properties after incorporating carbon fiber. The bending and tensile strength of short carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone were close to human bone, and the bending strength of continuous carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone reached 644 MPa, even higher than that of pure titanium.

CONCLUSIONS

The mechanical properties of polyetheretherketone composites are more similar to bone tissue than titanium, and the stress shielding phenomenon may be inhibited. They may become promising materials as substitutions for titanium and prospective materials in bone tissue engineering.