title: Numerical study of effect of elastomeric stress absorbers on stress reduction in bone-dental implant interface.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This paper focused on optimal stress distribution in the mandibular bone surrounding a dental implant and is devoted to the development of a modified Osteoplant® implant type in order to minimize stress concentration in the bone-implant interface.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study investigated 0.4 mm thick layers of two elastomeric stress barriers incorporated into the dental implant using 3-D finite element analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, this proposed implant provoked lower load transfer in bone-implant interface due to the effect of the elastomers as stress absorbers. The stress level in the bone was reduced between 28% and 42% for three load cases: 75 N, 60 N and 27 N in corono-apical, linguo-buccal and disto-mesial direction, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The proposed model provided an acceptable solution for load transfer reduction to the mandible. This investigation also permitted to choose how to incorporate two elastomers into the Osteoplant® implant system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Oran, Algeria.
authors.forename: Ghalem
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mehdi
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Oran, Algeria.
authors.forename: Abderrahmane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belarbi
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Oran, Algeria.
authors.forename: Bensmaine
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mansouri
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biomechanics, Polymers and Structures, ENIM, Metz, France.
authors.forename: Zitouni
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Azari
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001732:Bite Force; D019245:Compressive Strength; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous; D015921:Dental Implants; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D020724:Elastomers / Q000737:chemistry*; D004867:Equipment Design; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D008954:Models, Biological; D012016:Reference Values; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013718:Tensile Strength; D016474:Weight-Bearing
chemical_list: D015921:Dental Implants; D020724:Elastomers