ABSTRACT
Most fixed prostheses for partially of total edentulous patients are made of implants and a metal alloy bar connecting them and supporting the prosthetic veneering. These fixed prostheses have an important mechanical function, which consists of supporting and distributing the occlusal loads, like the ones applied during the masticatory activity. The loads induce stress paths on the prostheses and the bone tissue. It is important to obtain the right stress paths in order to assess the load transferred from the prostheses to the bone, and assure the biomechanical reliability of the prosthetic system. It is possible to conduct tests to study this reliability. However, such tests are very expensive, time consuming and they implicate the evaluation of the results transfer process to humans. In addition, it is almost impossible to predict accurately the stress or strain levels on the bone surrounding the implants. Numerical methods overcome the limitations of experimental methods, since they produce precise and reliable information about the biomechanical efficiency of the prostheses system, including bar, implants and bone response [1]. The study of multi-implant prostheses, which was studied with finite element (FEM) analysis [2], is now extended in this work to the meshless analysis.
