Assessment of dental implant stability by means of the electromechanical impedance method

Implant stability is a prerequisite for functional recovery in load-bearing prostheses. Robust, reliable and noninvasive methods to assess the bone interface of dental and orthopedic implants are increasingly demanded for clinical diagnosis and direct prognosis. In this paper, a study of the feasibility of a noninvasive method based on electromechanical impedance (EMI) to assess dental prostheses stability is presented. Two different dental screws were entrenched in polyurethane foams (Sawbones®) and immersed in a solution of nitric acid to allow material degradation, inversely simulating a bone healing process. This process was monitored by bonding a piezoceramic transducer (PZT) to the implant and measuring the admittance of the PZT over time. It was found that the PZT’s conductance and the statistical features associated with its analysis were sensitive to the degradation of the foams and can be correlated to the Sawbones mechanical properties. The present study shows promising results and may pave the road towards an innovative approach for the noninvasive monitoring of implanted prostheses.