Bite force and dental implant treatment: a short review

Dental implants are placed endosseously, and the bone is the ultimate bearer of the occlusal load. Patients are not uniform in the maximum bite force they can generate. The occlusal biting load in the posterior jaw is usually about three times of that found in the anterior. It is possible for supporting implants to be overloaded by the patients’ biting force, resulting in bone loss and failure of the fixture. Bite force measurement may be an important parameter when planning dental implant treatment. Some patients can generate extreme biting loads that may cause a luxation of the fixture and subsequent loss of osseointegration. A patient with low biting force may be able to have a successful long-term outcome even with poor anatomical bone qualities. Patients with a high bite force capability may have an increased risk for late component fracture or implant failure. There is no correlation of any bite force value that would indicate any overload of a given implant in a given osseous site. Nonetheless, after bite force measurement, a qualitative judgement may be made by the clinician for the selection of an implant diameter and length and prosthetic design.