Dental Implant With Threadless Shaft for Peri-Implantitis Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dental implants face challenges in achieving high primary and secondary stability while minimizing the risk of inflammation and facilitating therapeutic access, particularly in cases of peri-implantitis, and require complex osteotomy protocols based on bone hardness.
Innovation Solution
Designing a dental implant with an external thread limited to the apical end and a threadless, tapered shaft area to enhance stability and osseointegration, while minimizing thread exposure to promote biofilm formation and simplify therapeutic interventions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the implant is designed with threads along the entire shaft to maximize primary stability, then mechanical anchorage is improved, but the risk of peri-implantitis increases and therapeutic access becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The implant shaft is segmented into two distinct functional zones: a threaded apical section (3-5mm) for mechanical anchorage and a smooth proximal shaft for biocompatibility and access. This segmentation allows each zone to optimize its specific function without compromising the other, resolving the contradiction between stability and infection risk.
Solution Approach 2:
Different surface qualities are applied to different regions: the apical end has aggressive threading for bone engagement, while the proximal shaft has a smooth, polished surface that promotes soft tissue sealing and reduces biofilm accumulation. This local differentiation eliminates the need for threads throughout the entire shaft.
2Stability of the object's composition
If threads are extended to the proximal shaft area to improve stability, then mechanical anchorage increases, but therapeutic access and implant removal become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The threads are extracted from the proximal shaft region, removing only the problematic element (threads) while retaining the beneficial function (mechanical anchorage) in the apical region. This extraction eliminates the barrier to therapeutic access without compromising the implant's stability.
3Ease of operation
If a smooth shaft design is used to facilitate therapeutic access, then peri-implantitis treatment is simplified, but primary stability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The implant is segmented functionally: the apical 3-5mm contains threads for stability, while the proximal shaft remains smooth for access. This spatial separation allows the smooth surface to facilitate therapy while the threaded region maintains mechanical anchorage.
4Stability of the object's composition
If complex osteotomy protocols are used to accommodate threaded implants, then insertion stability is improved, but the surgical procedure becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating a fully threaded interface throughout the implant length, only a partial threaded section (3-5mm at the apex) is provided. This partial threading achieves sufficient primary stability without requiring complex osteotomy protocols, thereby simplifying the surgical procedure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design ensures high primary and secondary stability, reduces inflammation risk, facilitates therapeutic access, and simplifies implant removal and osteotomy, maintaining mechanical load-bearing capacity post-osseointegration.
Implementation Method 1
The thread flanks anchor themselves in the peri-implant bone purely mechanically
Implementation Method 2
Following implant insertion, remodeling processes of the peri-implant bone begin. Depending on the trauma applied and the insertion procedure, osteotomy leads to the formation of a peri-implant bone layer that did not survive the trauma ('death zone'). This layer is initially resorbed by osteoclasts, and in cases of extensive death zones, this leads to a reduction in the mechanical anchorage of the implant (secondary stability) after two to four weeks of healing.
Implementation Method 3
the implant surface, which is usually designed to promote osseointegration, has the undesirable side effect of promoting the formation and attachment of a biofilm and thus the colonization of germs
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to a dental implant (1, 1´) provided for introduction into the jawbone of a patient and having a main body (2) which is provided, in an apically arranged screw region (4) on its outer face, with a circumferential external thread (6), which implant is intended to allow for a particularly high primary and secondary stability and therefore in particular to promote the healing process, but at the same time to facilitate in a particularly favourable manner the containment or treatment of any inflammation which may occur in the surrounding bone tissue. For this purpose, according to the invention, the main body (2) is thread-free in a proximal shank region (10) provided in addition to the screw region (4).