Stress Transmission on Bone and Prosthetic Screws Influenced by Implant Position: A Finite Element Analysis

implants and bone due to dynamic loads at the time of actual masticatory movement.The stress induced over implants has been analyzed by several methods, but the finite element analysis (FEA) helps to visualize the accurate location, direction, and magnitude of the applied load and quantify the stress generated in the IntroductIonThe clinical success of implants has been found to be largely influenced by the masticatory forces.The distribution of occlusal loads applied to implant-supported prostheses depends on various factors, such as the number, arrangement, and placement of the implants. 1Dental implants have no periodontal ligament between them and the surrounding bone, unlike natural teeth, which leads to poor capacity for detection of masticatory forces, which may lead to an increase in occlusal overloading, further resulting in peri-implant bone loss and, in turn, failure of the implant. 2 It has been suggested by authors 3,4 in their studies that six-implant-supported prostheses show better results than fourimplant-supported prostheses, which could be attributed to the increase in the number of implants, in turn leading to a more widespread distribution of masticatory stresses. 5arious other mechanical complications related to an occlusal overload, including fracture of the prosthesis and abutment, have been reported.Although, the most common complication in the case of implant prostheses has been suggested to be fatigue and loosening of the prosthetic screw. 6oosening of the prosthetic screw can cause poor fit of the prosthesis, which in turn can lead to fracture of the screw and eventually result in failure of the implant. 7Hence, it is important to analyze and study the stresses that are generated around the 1,2,3,