# Design Optimization of Reduced-Diameter Implants in Simulated and Cadaver Bone

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CTR · 2020 · $363,126

## Abstract

Project Summary
Reduced-diameter dental implants have an outer diameter less than 3.75 mm. They are useful for replacing
teeth that have small cervical diameters, especially in anterior locations. In the anterior, the width of the
alveolar ridge is often insufficient to place a standard-diameter implant, so reduced-diameter implants avoid the
need for bone augmentation surgery and thus avoid the additional cost and six-month wait prior to implant
placement. However, reduced-diameter implants suffer from a much greater incidence of mechanical
complications compared with standard-diameter implants. These complications include loosening and/or
fracture of the implant-abutment connector screw. Fortunately, our preliminary data suggest that the design of
the implant-abutment connection in reduced-diameter implants can be optimized to increase their lifetime.
We previously conducted a five-year project on more efficient methods of evaluating the mechanical reliability
of dental implants by (1) validating the accuracy of implant lifetime prediction performed using finite element
stress analysis combined with fatigue post-processing software and (2) validating the accelerated lifetime
testing of physical specimens performed using a combination of overstress acceleration and usage rate
acceleration. We accomplished those aims, which provided us with a powerful set of tools for addressing the
design optimization of reduced-diameter dental implants.
In the currently proposed project, we will use finite element modeling to screen 25 implant design parameters
to determine which parameters should be used as experimental factors in design optimization of reduced-
diameter dental implants. The candidate parameters were identified by fatigue testing of four types of reduced-
diameter dental implants and testing design parameters for significant association with fatigue lifetime. Second,
we will identify the optimal combination of design parameters that corresponds to the maximum predicted
fatigue lifetime for reduced-diameter dental implants. We will use Artificial Neural Networks that have been
trained using the results of our finite element analyses to perform design optimization and will compare that
method with Response Surface Methodology. Third, we will validate the virtual models by using accelerated
lifetime testing (ALT) of physical specimens to compare the performance of our optimized implant with a
commercially available benchmark in simulated bone. Fourth, we will also test our optimized prototype in
cadaver bone to validate our novel simulated bone holder material for future implant fatigue studies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9900767
- **Project number:** 5R01DE026144-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** JASON A GRIGGS
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $363,126
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9900767

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9900767, Design Optimization of Reduced-Diameter Implants in Simulated and Cadaver Bone (5R01DE026144-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9900767. Licensed CC0.

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