Finite Element Analysis of 3D Printed Dental Implant and Experimental Validation

Abstract

Although significant progress has been made in understanding Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) and its application in fabricating a wide range of materials, its adoption in industry particularly in dentistry remains limited. One of the primary challenges lies in the restricted availability of materials that are optimized for direct use in L-PBF, especially for biomedical applications. To address this, the material used in this study was specially formulated and customised to improve the consistency of the titanium alloy, a widely used titanium-based material in dental and orthopaedic implants. The objective of this study was to develop a computational model for dental implants, which was then validated using experimental fatigue data. The finite element analysis (FEA) results showed strong agreement with the experimental findings, confirming the reliability of the model. Fractographic analysis of failed samples revealed the presence of porosity and microstructural tearing in the titanium alloy, which contributed to crack initiation and propagation under cyclic loading. Despite these defects, the fatigue life variation was within 10%, indicating a high level of consistency across the tested specimens. The maximum predicted service life based on experimental data reached 19.35 years, demonstrating the potential of L-PBF-fabricated, customised titanium implants for long-term dental applications.