A natural tooth's stress distribution in occlusion with a dental implant.

The loss of one or more teeth is normally treated with conventional fixed or removable partial dentures or with implant supported fixed or removable dentures. This study investigated stresses formed around the implant and the antagonist natural tooth under occlusal force in the substitution of a missing lower first molar with a rigid or resilient IMZ (Intra Mobil Zylinder) implant, using the finite element stress analysis method. The results indicate that a bite force of 143 N resulted in high compressive stresses around the roots of a natural tooth opposing a restoration supported by an IMZ implant with rigid type abutment. It is speculated that these high compressive stresses may contribute to intrusion of the tooth.