THE INFLUENCE OF A FLEXIBLE COATING ON THE BONE STRESS AROUND DENTAL IMPLANTS

The influence of a three-layered flexible coating of Polyactive(R) on bone stress distribution was investigated by three-dimensional finite element models of mandibular bone, in which a titanium implant (coated or uncoated) was located. Polyactive(R) is a system of poly(ethylene oxide) poly(butylene terephthalate) segmented co-polymers with bone-bonding capacity. In the case of sagittal and transversal loading, the use of a Polyactive(R) coating reduced both the minimum principal stress in the bone and the compressive radial stress at the bone-implant interface. However, it raised the maximum principal and the tensile radial stress. In the case of vertical loading, the application of a flexible coating reduced the compressive radial stress at the bone-implant interface around the neck of the implant by a factor of 6.6 and the tensile radial stress by a factor of 3.6. Variations in composition and thickness of the coating did not affect the results significantly.