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V. Sharanraj*, C.M. Ramesha*
Finite Element Analysis of Ti−6Al−4V ELI and Alumina Bio-inert
Material Used in Molar Tooth Dental Implant Applications
KEYWORDS: bio-inert material, Ti−6Al−4V ELI, alumina, dental implant, FEM
AUTHORS
The Corresponding author V. Sharanraj, received his
M.Tech in Computer Integrated Manufacturing from
the M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology of Visves-
varaya Technological University, Bengaluru (India).
He is currently working as Senior Grade Lecturer in
the Department of Mechanical Engineering (W & SM),
Sri Jayachamarajendra (Govt.) Polytechnic, Bengaluru
and also pursuing his doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering at
MSRIT, Visvesvaraya Technological University. In his research activities,
he focuses on biomaterials, ceramic materials, and composite material
processing. E-Mail: sharanraj407@gmail.com
1. Introduction
Biomaterial is a non-viable material used in the field of medical den-
tal implantation, which is intended to interact with the biological sys-
tem. A dental implant is an artificial substitute for the replacement
of a missing tooth. Based on the biological interaction with material,
biomaterials are categorized into three types, i.e., bio-inert materials,
bio-active materials, and bio-resorbable materials. Bio-inert materials
have minimum interaction with the surrounding tissue, namely titani-
um alloy (TI−6AL−4V ELI) and alumina [1]. When placed in the human
body bio-active materials interact with the surrounding tissue; these are
glass, ceramics, and bioglass. Bio-resorbable materials start to dissolve
when placed in the human body and are slowly replaced by advancing
tissue, namely bone. However, currently bio-inert materials are being
extensively used in dental implants, due to their unique characteristics
of having minimal interaction with surrounding tissue, good biocom-
patibility, high yield strength, and corrosion resistance [2].
Dental anatomy is a field of anatomy dedicated to the study of tooth
structure (Fig. 1). A dental implant is an artificial substitute for the root
of a tooth that is placed into the jawbone and ultimately fuses with the
bone in order to support a replacement tooth. Teeth are the hardest sub-
stances in the human body. Besides being essential for chewing, teeth
play an important role in speech. After a tooth has been damaged or
decayed, restoration of the missing structure can be achieved with a
variety of treatments using a variety of materials, including titanium
alloy (Ti−6Al−4V ELI), and alumina are small restorations placed inside
a tooth that are referred to as intracoronal restorations.
These restorations may be formed directly in the mouth or may be cast
using the lost-wax technique, such as for some inlays and onlays. When
larger portions of a tooth are lost, an extracoronal restoration may be
fabricated, such as a crown and screw or implant, to restore the decayed
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ABSTRACT
TI−6AL−4V ELI and alumina are important bio-inert materials used in
the field of dental implants due to their unique characteristics of minimal
interaction with surrounding tissue. This paper presents the typical finite
element method (FEM) as an effective approach for the analysis of dental
implants and dental structures. In the present work, three-dimensional
modeling of a molar tooth was generated by CATIA V5 software. Analyses
were carried out by commercial FEA software Ansys 14.5 to evaluate the
displacement, strain, stress, fatigue life, and factor of safety in the proximal
region of Ti−6Al−4V ELI and alumina molar teeth implants under a static
load condition of 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 N. The results show that
the displacement, strain and stresses, fatigue life, and factor of safety were
within the admissible material limits for alumina. Hence, the study reveals
that alumina is an alternate biomaterial suitable for dental implants.
tooth. A normal adult mouth has 32 teeth, which have erupted around
the age of 18. Parts of the teeth include enamel, dentin, pulp cavity,
crown, root, cement, gum tissue, incisors, canines, premolars, and mo-
lars. Molars are flat tooth located at the rear end of the mouth for the
best grinding of food and are the only teeth that can withstand a maxi-
mum load up to 300 N. Hence, 3D modeling and finite element analysis
are carried out on a molar tooth by applying TI−6AL−4V ELI and alumina
material properties in the present work.
F.H. Hattab et al. [3] aimed to provide a detailed description of crown
size dimensions in the deciduous dentition of people and to compare the
findings with those of other populations. Measurements of mesiodistal
(MD) and buccolingual (BL) crown diameters were obtained from dental
casts of 84 males and females aged between 2.9 and 18. The differences
in crown size (MD and BL diameters) between the right and left sides
of the dental arch were not significant. The Ti−6Al−4V ELI composition
consists of Ti 89 mass-%, Al 6 mass-%, and V 4 mass-% and is widely
used for implants and other porous surface coating and contains impu-
rities (N, 0.13 % O, Fe, H, and C). Extra low interstitials (ELI) include im-
purities that increase interstitial content, which increases strength and
fatigue limit (N increases hardness, O increases tensile strength), but
have unsatisfactory wear.
Ti−6Al−4V ELI with yield strength of 114 GPa is widely used in den-
tal implants due to its unique characteristics, such as lower modulus,
superior tissue compatibility, and high corrosion resistance. However,
the presence of vanadium in Ti−6Al−4V ELI alloy causes long-term
health-related problems [4]. Hence, titanium is no longer considered
as a completely bio-inert material. In contrast, titanium is thought to
* Research Scholar, MSRIT, Visvesvaraya Technological University, Bengaluru-560054
Karnataka (India)
HIGH-PERFORMANCE CERAMICS 091

(a) (b)

Fig. 1 • Dental anatomy: (a) molar tooth location, (b) structure of molar tooth [11]

be the “new allergen” as demonstrated by several reports and studies. 2 (a) (b)
Titanium has entirely replaced other metals in dental implants. Titani-
um is also widely used in oral and maxillofacial surgery to form other
devices such as grids, membranes, plates, screws, and teeth. Mechanical
properties can be enhanced when titanium is alloyed, but this some-
times deteriorates the corrosion resistance properties, and constituent
release can be substantially reduced with surface treatments of titanium
or its alloy. Davide Zaffe et al. concluded that titanium release from the
devices stops only after bone is laid down on the titanium surfaces and
titanium release does not seem to interfere with the osteogenic process
but may perhaps interact with it [5].
Alumina (Al2O3) has high density, high wear resistance, yield strength
205 GPa, high corrosion resistance, and good biocompatibility, which
makes it a useful bio ceramic. It has been used in a range of applications Fig. 2 • (a) 3D model of a molar tooth with an implant in CATIA, (b) 3D model
in the human body, including load-bearing hip and knee prostheses, converted into STP
bone screws, and tooth crowns, and in a wide range of dental applica-
tions. D.H Barnes et al. [6] proposed that implants made of alumina have
a low friction coefficient and exhibit superior wear properties and high plant and the supporting bone tissues was considered. Three contact
scratch resistance compared to metal implants made of Ti−6Al−4V ELI conditions at the implant–bone interface were used to model different
alloy. However, alumina prostheses carry potential risk due to their brit- osseointegration stages. A comprehensive parametric study was con-
tle nature. R.J. Kohal et al. [7] have a focus of interest in implant dentist- ducted to highlight the influence of the material properties and the os-
ry in the application of ceramic materials for the fabrication of implant seointegration quality on the maximum of von Mises stress, deformation
abutments as well as for dental implants. When compared to alumina distribution, and natural frequencies.
ceramics, the enhanced strength of zirconia is explained by microstruc-
tural differences, such as higher density, smaller particle size, and FEM
analyses has been performed on sound and restored teeth stress dis- 2. Finite element and experimental procedure
tribution assessment. This method is an efficient approach to the me- 2.1 Geometric modeling
chanical and fracture behavior of systems with complex geometry and The first step in FEM is geometric modeling [10, 11]. In this step, the
materials with different mechanical properties submitted to different three-dimensional (3D) model of a molar tooth with an implant is gen-
loading modes [8]. erated by using CATIA V5 software as illustrated in Fig. 2a. The 3D model
FEM analysis is a powerful tool to characterize dental systems in their is converted into a step file format (STP) as shown in Fig. 2b. The geomet-
different functional conditions and is of great importance to both den- rical dimensions of molar teeth are validated against actual teeth and
tists and engineers. In vitro tests of sound and restored teeth submitted implants by measuring the key dimensions listed in Table 1.
to static and cyclic loading under functional conditions have been car-
ried out by biomaterials groups to validate numerical results obtained 2.2 Meshing
by FEM. Jie Yang et al. [9] investigated the biomechanical behavior of Meshing involves discretization of the geometric model into finite dis-
a threaded, functionally graded biomaterials dental implant and the crete elements. Ansys provides various options to produce a 3D mesh
surrounding bone system under static and harmonic forces by using a on the STP format of a molar tooth model (Fig. 3). Meshing details of
three-dimensional finite element method. The interaction of the im- a molar tooth with an implant and its dimensions are listed in Table 2.