Krzysztof Szajek

Tooth-Implant Life Cycle Design

Dental restorations with the application of implants are very effective and commonly used in dental treatment. However, for some percent of patients, diverse complications can be observed. These problems can be caused by mechanical reasons such as loosening of the retaining screws or fracture and cracking of the dental implant components. These problems suggest the need for permanent modernization and development of dental implants. This paper describes selected aspects of the life cycle design process of the tooth-implant system Osteoplant. The authors would like to present what they mean by implant life cycle design as one part of the whole Digital Product Development (DPD) process. The sequential stages of this process are described and the tools and methods are discussed. The attention is focused on numerical simulations the mechanical behavior of dental implants and genetically based optimization algorithms. The tools and methodology of FE simulations of implant behavior are described. The whole process of optimization of a dental implant system is explained, and a self-developed optimization tool based on a genetic algorithm is presented. These processes are crucial for modern design procedure beyond the life sciences industry.