Purpose: To evaluate the influence of implant location on the stress distribution for implant-supported fixed partial dentures by 3-D finite element analysis.
Methods: Four 3-D finite element models with different implant location were constructed. Four different loading conditions(vertical distributed,oblique distributed,vertical concentrated,oblique concentrated) were applied to investigate the stress distribution by finite element analysis software ABAQUS 6.5-1.
Results: Under the distributed loading, the maximum von Mises stress in all of the four models was located on the cortical bone around the neck of implant.The von Mises stress of the the cortical bone and the implant under oblique distributed loading increased significantly,and was 2.9-5.6 times bigger than that under vertical distributed loading. Under the concentrated loading, the maximum von Mises stress in all of the four models was located on the crestal region around the neck of the implant adjacent to the pontic.The stress concentration was the highest in the distal cantilever.
Conclusions: It is unreasonable for the design of 456X with distal cantilever. Within the limitation of this study, the design of 45X7 reveals better stress distribution.