BIOMECHANICAL SENSITIVITY OF A THREE-IMPLANT MANDIBULAR REHABILITATION MODEL UNDER ORTHOTROPIC BONE PROPERTY VARIATIONS: A 3D FINITE ELEMENT STUDY

Abstract

Achieving clinical effectiveness depends on an awareness of the mechanical features of implanted supported mandibular prosthesis. This study used three-dimensional finite element analysis to assess how sensitive a three-implant mandibular arrangement is to changes in the properties of cortical and cancellous bone. Using Ti-6Al-4V material, implants were shown; the bone was defined with orthotropic linear-elastic properties. Young's modulus and shear modulus were systematically changed by 5–15%. Under a 100 N axial load, biomechanical reactions including von Mises stress, principal strain, and displacement were studied with variation coefficients employed to evaluate their consistency. The results showed that stress had minimal changes while strain, particularly in cortical and cancellous bone, was quite sensitive to changes in material characteristics. Young's modulus had a greater influence than shear modulus, and increasing stiffness reduced total displacement. Still, the three-implant system showed consistent load distribution patterns, which suggested strong biomechanical stability. These findings underline how important bone flexibility is for the dynamics of peri-implant tissue and support the application of strain-related metrics for estimating implant placements.