Stress Evaluation of Titanium-gold and Titanium-aluminum-vanadium Alloy for Orthodontic Implants: A Comparative Finite Element Model Study

Introduction: With the increased popularity of implants, orthodontists are in search of a better material. Titanium-gold (Ti-Au) is a newer material and could be a choice to replace the currently popular titanium-aluminum-vanadium (Ti-6Al-4Va) alloy. Materials and Methods: Using the finite element analysis method, three-dimensional computer-aided models of a mini-implant was designed. Two cylindrical bone pieces into which the implant was inserted were used. A force magnitude of 5 N was then horizontally and separately applied to the implant head. Results: Comparison of the maximum von Mises stress in the implants of Ti-6Al-4Va and Ti-Au was done. The maximum stress value of 252.356 and 242.415 Mpa, as well as maximum deformation of 0.025 mm and 0.019 mm, on Ti-6Al-4Va and Ti-Au can be observed, respectively. Conclusion: It was found that the maximum stress and maximum deformation values were lower in Ti-Au as compared to Ti-6Al-4Va implant. As the Ti-Au implant has greater resistance to deformation, it can be concluded that this newer alloy has better strength than Ti-6Al-4Va implant.