Design Optimization of Dental Implants Using Additively Manufactured Lattice Materials

Abstract

A dental implant is a biocompatible surgical component placed into the jawbone to support dental prostheses including bridges, crowns, or denture replacements. Currently, dental implants are constructed employing solid materials, coated with biocompatible layers.Since bone is a living tissue that is constantly modified in response to external loading, redistributed or reduced mechanical loading might cause bone resorption, implant loosening or interface failure, all of which have been notable problems for orthopedic implants. To overcome these issues, we propose a new design for the dental implant structure that can simultaneously minimize bone loss and interface failure. Multiscale and multi-objective design optimization of dental implants employing lattice materials was performed by considering lattice structure in implant design. A 3D FEA model of a segment of jawbone and implant was developed. Mechanical properties of the lattice material were determined and applied to the model and finally, the bone loss and interface failure were studied and the implant structure was optimized based on required objective functions. The proposed design was capable of simultaneously reducing the interface failure and bone loss, as well as implant weight. The optimized implant can be manufactured by additive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing technology facilitates the production of complicated shapes and geometries that cannot be produced by conventional manufacturing processes. In general, the proposed method can be applied to other types of implants and prostheses to optimize their structural performance and reduce their weights.iii