Irregular Bone Defect Detection and Device on Dental Implants

Dental implants are generally used in edentulous patients. The key issue of this dental surgery is the effective osseointegration of implants with spongy bone and cortical bone and then they become a part of loading structure. Current osseointegration detection devices only offer overall evaluation without the information of location and orientation of bone defects. This study is to develop detection techniques to measure the quantity as well as to locate the orientation of imperfection around bone-implant interface based on resonance frequency analysis (RFA). A noncontact measurement technique is performed with acoustic excitation through a loud-speaker and displacement response via a capacity-type pick-up. In the first and second series experiments, RFA is applied to estimate the orientation and quantity of irregular bone defects on various in-vitro faulty models. The variation in RF not only locates the orientation and depth of defects but also reflects the change of boundary conditions surrounding the defective models. According to these results, the detection technique to locate irregular osseointegration is established. Furthermore, the detection device to this end is proposed as well. The proposed examining approach and device are promising and able to assist dentists in dental implant surgery.