The achievement and the maintenance of dental implant stability are prerequisites for the long-term success of the osseointegration process. Since implant stability occurs at different stages, it is clinically required to monitor an implant over time, i.e. between the surgery and the placement of the artificial tooth. In this framework, non-invasive tests able to assess the degree of osseointegration are necessary. In this paper, the electromechanical impedance (EMI) method is proposed to monitor the stability of dental implants. A 3D finite element model of a piezoceramic transducer (PZT) bonded to a dental implant placed into the bone was created, considering the presence of a bone-implant interface subjected to Young’s modulus change. The numerical model was validated experimentally by testing bovine bone samples. The EMI response of a PZT, bonded to the abutment screwed to implants inserted to the bone, was measured. To simulate the osseointegration process a pulp canal sealer was used to secure the implant to the bone. It was found that the PZT’s admittance is sensitive to the stiffness variation of the bone-implant interface. The results show that EMIbased method is able (i) to evaluate the material properties around the implant, and (ii) to promote a novel non-invasive monitoring of dental implant surgical procedure.

Date Published: 9 March 2014
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 9064, Health Monitoring of Structural and Biological Systems 2014, 90640I (9 March 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2043823

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9064:
Health Monitoring of Structural and Biological Systems 2014
Tribikram Kundu, Editor(s)