ABSTRACT
The most usual causes of the failure in dental implant osseointegration are the mechanical damage linked with excessive levels of penetration force during drilling and thermal injury, because produce irreversible osteonecrosis. The result is weakened contact of implants with bone and loss of rigid fixation, which lead to delay the healing process. The main goal of this paper is to investigate the effect of drill speed on mechanical damage during drilling of solid rigid foam materials with similar mechanical properties to the human bone. Experimental tests were performed on biomechanical blocks instrumented with strain gauges in different surface positions during the drilling process. A three-dimensional finite element model was developed to simulate the drilling process and validated with experimental tests. Results of this study suggests that a drill bit with lower drill speed can reduce the strains and stresses in bone during drilling. The proposed numerical model reflected adequately the experimental results and could be useful in determination of optimal drilling conditions that minimize the bone injuries.
