Analyzing the effects of the platform-switching procedure on stresses in the bone and implant-abutment complex by 3-dimensional fem analysis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 2 different abutment types on the stress distribution in peri-implant bone and within the implant-abutment complex using 3-dimensional finite element analysis. A simple cylindrical implant (4 × 11 mm) was used in this study for efficacy calculation. One model simulated a 4.00-mm-diameter abutment connection, and the other was narrower, using a 3.2-mm-diameter abutment connection assuming a platform-switching configuration. The stress level in the cervical bone area at the implant was greatly reduced when the narrow-diameter abutment was connected compared with the regular-sized one, despite the fact that the stress level in the implant-abutment complex was increased. The results obtained in the platform-switching model can contribute to reduce the stress level at the implant-bone interface area. Results from this study showed the platform-switching procedure has the biomechanical advantage of shifting the stress concentration area away from the cervical bone-implant interface. The disadvantage of the configuration is the increasing stress in the abutment and implant-abutment junction.