Evaluation of lateral and axial forces in atrophic maxilla with angled pterygoid implant using three dimensional finite element analysis

The purpose of this research is to identify the angle of pterygoid implant that have minimum equivalent stress and minimum equivalent strain using the finite element analysis (FEA) technique, based on the Frankfort Horizontal Plane. A three-dimensional maxilla model was reconstructed from a CT scan of a toothless patient. This model includes the cancellous and cortical bone. The facial region of a 58-year-old male patient with an atrophic maxilla and an angled pterygoid implant was imaged with CT in DICOM format. The raw DICOM data had a 0.3-mm section thickness. The MIMICS program created a three-dimensional model of the sections bone tissue. A dental implant with a diameter of 3.5 mm, a length of 16 mm, a conical shape, and a private thread design was placed in the pterygoid bone using SOLIDWORKS. This study investigated at how to place a pterygoid dental implant using both monocortical (at the end of the crest and cancellous bone) and bicortical (between the crest and basal bone) methods at 45, 55, 65, 75, and 85° relative to the Frankfort Horizontal Plane. Ten models were used for this study. CAD models were sent to ANSYS for loading. Boundaries of maxilla before force application are fixed from the zygomatic region. Human mastication was simulated using three load situations with the following characteristics, 150-N axial loading and 50-N lateral loading separately and 50-N lateral loading and 150-N axial loading simultaneously. Based on our studies and according to the Frankfort Horizontal Plane, placing the pterygoid implant at an 85° angle is the best in terms of bone stress. In terms of bone strain, it was found that placing the implant at 75 and 85° angles monocortically and bicortically respectively has the best outcome. This research concluded that an angle of 85° exhibits the minimum stress and strain effects on the surrounding bone tissue and the implant's structural integrity.