Misfit on dental implants and its impact on complications and survival in a human mouth

As of recent years, over 12-18M dental implants are placed globally and restored with dental prostheses (iDP). Various studies have reported that 20-60% of iDPs can exhibit some degree of misfit between dental implant and fixed restoration. Misfitting implant reconstructions generate internal stress upon loading, which affects the bone-implant interface or cause a plastic deformation of the implant. Over time, this can lead to biological and technical complications from screw loosening to catastrophic implant fracture and can induce pain, peri-implant bone loss or even loss of implant osseointegration in a patient's mouth. To evaluate the internal impact with potential plastic deformation of the loaded implant, synchrotron-based X-ray imaging is necessary to capture the mechanisms induced with the highest possible resolution. Study results could significantly impact the future quality of implant reconstructions by revealing the role of misfit in dental implant complications.