Angulated Dental Implants in Posterior Maxilla FEA and Experimental Verification

AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different implant angulations in posterior maxilla on stress distribution by finite element analysis and verify its results experimentally. METHODS: Two simplified models were prepared for an implant placed vertically and tilted 25° piercing the maxillary sinus. Geometric models’ components were prepared by Autodesk Inventor then assembled in ANSYS for finite element analysis. The results of finite element analysis were verified against experimental trials results which were statistically analysed using student t-test (level of significance p < 0.05). RESULTS: Implant - abutment complex absorbed the load energy in case of vertical implant better than the case of angulated one. That was reflected on cortical bone stress, while both cases showed stress levels within the physiological limits. Comparing results between FEA and experiment trials showed full agreement. CONCLUSION: It was found that the tilted implant by 25° can be utilised in the posterior region maxilla for replacing maxillary first molar avoiding sinus penetration. The implant-bone interface and peri-implant bones received the highest Von Mises stress. Implant - bone interface with angulated implant received about 66% more stresses than the straight one.