2023 Volume 42 Issue 3 Pages 347-353
Wolffʼs law indicated that bone tissues are influenced by mechanical force and adapt bone structure to mechanical usage. According to this law, it is assumed the dental implant body could influence bone metabolism and induce deformation of shape of the jawbone during long term period, because the dental implant bodies locate in the bone matrix and directly connect with mineralized bone tissue. The aim of this study is to ascertain whether dental implant treatments influence deformation of shape of the jawbone or not. For this purpose, we used plaster models belong to 4 patients whose multiple dental implants have been passed at least more than ten years and compared the precise 3D positions of the dental implant bodies in past (old) and present (new) plaster models of the same patient by using the laser 3D measurement technique. The results of the study demonstrate that the multiple dental implants caused deformation of shape of the jawbone for long term period of the dental implant occlusion, and suggest that the phenomenon should be considered carefully on occlusal management of dental implants.
