Is Acoustic modal analysis a reliable substitution for Osstell® device in dental implant stability assessment? An experimental and finite element analysis study.

Background: Different methods have been proposed to investigate the fixation stability of dental implants, each of which has its limitations. Among these methods, resonance frequency analysis (RFA) has been widely utilized to measure dental implant stability. This study aimed to assess dental implants with two non-destructive RFA and acoustic modal analysis (AMA) validated with a finite element simulation of the fundamental natural frequency (NF) of the bone analog-implant structure.

Material and methods: A total number of 18 implants were inserted into two Polyurethane (PU) bone blocks with different densities (0.16 g/cc and 0.32 g/cc). AMA was used to measure NF; First, the sound originating from the axial tapping of the implant was recorded with a simple microphone. Secondly, a fast Fourier transformation algorithm was conducted to determine the NF of the implant-bone analog structure. In parallel, the ISQ (Implant Stability Quotient) value was measured using the Osstell® device. Finally, using finite element analysis (FEA), the implant-bone analog structure was modeled for validation.

Results: Doubling the bone analog density resulted in an average increase of 82% and 47% in the NF and ISQ using AMA and Osstell®, respectively (P-value<0.05). Furthermore, a strong linear relationship (R2= 0.93) was observed between the measured NF and ISQ values in the linear regression analysis. The NF of the dental implant predicted by FEA was overestimated by about 15.2% and 15.0% than those in the low- and high-density PUs, respectively. Moreover, the FEA predicted an increase of 83% in NF by increasing the bone analog density from 0.16 to 0.32 g/cc.

Conclusions: Having required the minimum process combined with easily available equipment makes it an ideal method for fixation strength studies. The good correspondence between the ISQ values and NFs, in addition to the good accuracy and reliability of the later method, confirms its application for fixation stability assessment.