Effect of microthread design of dental implants on stress and strain patterns: a three-dimensional finite element analysis.

The aim of this study was to use finite element analysis (FEA) to assess the influence of microthread design at the implant neck on stress distribution in the surrounding bone. A commercially available implant with 3.5 mm diameter and 10.5 mm length was selected and used as a model. For the purpose of designing the microthread implant model, microthreads were added to the implant neck in a computerized model. A force measuring 100 N was then applied to the entire surface of the abutment in the vertical direction. The results showed that in both models, stress was mainly concentrated at the cortical bone adjacent to the neck of the implant. Maximum stress values in the cortical bone surrounding the implant surface periphery were 12 and 6.25 MPa for the microthread and conventional models, respectively. In this study, we conclude that adding a microthread design at the implant neck decreased stress values in the adjacent bone.