Factors affecting crestal bone loss with dental implants partially covered with a porous coating: a finite element analysis.

Limited crestal bone loss has been observed around dental implants partially covered with a porous coating. The results of a two-dimensional finite element analysis suggested that for this implant design, the observed crestal bone loss is the result of low stresses acting on bone around the uncoated superior region of the implant, causing disuse atrophy of bone. This finite element study investigated the effect on crestal bone loss of varying the design of the prosthesis connecting pairs of implants, the length of the uncoated region of the implant, and the friction at the noncoated coronal portion of the implant and adjacent host bone.