Fig 1.
Diagrammatic representation of the steps and the correlated software applied in the pre-processing and processing phases.
Fig 2.
Edentulous maxilla (A); Type IIb maxillary defect (B); Implants distribution on maxillary crestal bone (C); Cancellous bone (D); Cortical bone (E); Soft tissue (F); Five external hexagon implants (G); Bar and bar-clip attachments (H); Five prosthetic screws (I); Full-arch total prosthesis (J).
Fig 3.
Milled implant-retained bar with 3 clip-bar attachments in different materials. PEEK (A); Titanium alloy (B); Cobalt-Chromium alloy (C).
Fig 4.
Boundary conditions and loadings configuration in FEA models.
Mesh (A); Boundary conditions (B); Anterior load was applied at cingulum area of the central incisor (C); Posterior load was applied at occlusal surface of the first molar (D).
Table 1.
Mechanical properties of the materials/solid geometry used in the current study.
Fig 5.
Microstrain distribution in the maxillary cancellous bone.
Upper line: anterior loading; Bottom line: posterior loading. Framework’s material: PEEK (A and D); Titanium alloy (B and E); Cobalt-Chromium alloy (C and F).
Fig 6.
Microstrain distribution on the maxillary cortical bone.
Upper line: anterior loading; Bottom line: posterior loading. Framework’s material: PEEK (A and D); Titanium alloy (B and E); Cobalt-Chromium alloy (C and F).
Table 2.
Results in terms of bone microstrain (με) and stress peak values (MPa) according to the framework’s material and load incidence.
Fig 7.
The stress distribution in the framework.
Upper line: anterior loading; Bottom line: posterior loading. Framework’s material: PEEK (A and D); Titanium alloy (B and E); Cobalt-Chromium alloy (C and F).
Fig 8.
Maps of von Mises stress distribution results for implants according to framework’s material, under anterior loading.
PEEK (A); Titanium (B); Cobalt-Chromium alloy (C). On the bottom line, an enlarged view of the implants that presented the highest stress concentration.
Fig 9.
Maps of von Mises stress distribution results for implants according to framework’s material, under posterior loading.
PEEK (A); Titanium (B); Cobalt-Chromium alloy (C). On the bottom line, an enlarged view of the implants that presented the highest stress concentration.
Fig 10.
Maps of von Mises stress distribution results for prosthetic screw according to framework’s material, under anterior loading.
PEEK (A); Titanium alloy (B); Cobalt-Chromium alloy (C). On the bottom line, an enlarged view of the prosthetic screws that presented the highest stress concentration.
Fig 11.
Maps of von Mises stress distribution results for prosthetic screw according to framework’s material, under posterior loading.
PEEK (A); Titanium alloy (B); Cobalt-Chromium alloy (C). On the bottom line, an enlarged view of the prosthetic screws that presented the highest stress concentration.