Effect of Bone-Implant Contact Percentage on Bone Remodeling Surrounding a Dental Implant

Dental implants are an effective, safe and predictable solution for patients suffering from tooth loss. However implant placement changes the normal mechanical environment of the jawbone leading to bone density redistribution and ´remodeling´. Many bone remodeling theories assume the presence of 100% contact between bone and implant, which is inconsistent with clinical reality in that about 50%~80% bone-implant contact is commonly seen. The influence of different percentages of bone-implant contact on bone remodeling has not been investigated adequately in literature. This study aims to evaluate such an influence using a newly proposed remodeling algorithm. Four different degrees of bone-implant contact are considered and their influences on the density distribution of jawbone is evaluated. The predicted results indicate that no matter what the initial percentages of bone-implant contact are, the final outcome is about 58%-60% contact when an equilibrium state is reached by bone remodeling. The results are consistent with clinical observations and findings.