FEM Analysis of Mandibular Prosthetic Overdenture Supported by Dental Implants: Evaluation of Different Retention Methods

Prosthetic rehabilitation of total edentulous jaws patients is today a common technique that clinicians approach in their daily practice. e use of dental implants for replacing missing teeth is going to be a safe technique and the implant-prosthetic materials give the possibility of having long-term clinical success. Aim of this work is to evaluate the mechanical features of three di erent prosthetic retention systems. By applying engineering systems of investigations like FEM and von Mises analyses, how the dental implant material holds out against the masticatory strength during the chewing cycles has been investigated. ree common dental implant overdenture retention systems have been investigated. e ball attachment system, the locator system, and the common dental abutment have been processed by Ansys Workbench 15.0 and underwent FEM and von Mises investigations. e elastic features of the materials used in the study have been taken from recent literature data. Results revealed di erent response for both types of device, although locator system showed better results for all conditions of loading. e data of this virtual model show all the features of di erent prosthetic retention systems under the masticatory load. Clinicians should nd the better prosthetic solution related to the patients clinical condition in order to obtain long-term results.