A novel dental implant abutment with micro-motion capability--development and biomechanical evaluations.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to develop a novel dental implant abutment with a micro-motion mechanism that imitates the biomechanical behavior of the periodontal ligament, with the goal of increasing the long-term survival rate of dental implants.


METHODS
Computer-aided design software was used to design a novel dental implant abutment with an internal resilient component with a micro-motion capability. The feasibility of the novel system was investigated via finite element analysis. Then, a prototype of the novel dental implant abutment was fabricated, and the mechanical behavior was evaluated.


RESULTS
The results of the mechanical tests and finite element analysis confirmed that the novel dental implant abutment possessed the anticipated micro-motion capability. Furthermore, the nonlinear force-displacement behavior apparent in this micro-motion mechanism imitated the movement of a human tooth. The slope of the force-displacement curve of the novel abutment was approximately 38.5 N/mm before the 0.02-mm displacement and approximately 430 N/mm after the 0.03-mm displacement.


CONCLUSIONS
The novel dental implant abutment with a micro-motion mechanism actually imitated the biomechanical behavior of a natural tooth and provided resilient function, sealing, a non-separation mechanism, and ease-of-use.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, No. 1, Sec. 3 Chung-Hsiao E. Rd., Da-an District, Taipei City 106, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: yychenbrian@yahoo.com.tw.
Yen-Yin
YY
Chen
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, No. 1, Sec. 3 Chung-Hsiao E. Rd., Da-an District, Taipei City 106, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: wpchen@ntut.edu.tw.
Weng-Pin
WP
Chen
Graduate Institute of Clinical Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Chang-De St., Jhong-Jheng District, Taipei City 100, Taiwan, ROC; National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Chang-De St., Taipei City 100, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: changhh@ntu.edu.tw.
Hao-Hueng
HH
Chang
Graduate Institute of Clinical Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Chang-De St., Jhong-Jheng District, Taipei City 100, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: d97422003@ntu.edu.tw.
Shih-Hao
SH
Huang
Graduate Institute of Clinical Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Chang-De St., Jhong-Jheng District, Taipei City 100, Taiwan, ROC; National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Chang-De St., Taipei City 100, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: pinlin@ntu.edu.tw.
Chun-Pin
CP
Lin
D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D000044:Dental Abutments; D015921:Dental Implants; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D012984:Software
D015921:Dental Implants
Abutment; Compression test; Dental implant; Finite element analysis; Micro-motion; Natural tooth; Periodontal ligament