Dental Materials Journal 2011; 30(6): 869880

3D-FE analysis of functionally graded structured dental posts

Noor H. ABU KASIM1, Ahmed A. MADFA1, Mohd HAMDI2 and Ghahnavyeh R. RAHBARI3
Department of Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3 Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Corresponding author, Noor Hayaty ABU KASIM; E-mail: nhayaty@um.edu.my
1 2

This study aimed to compare the biomechanical behaviour of functionally graded structured posts (FGSPs) and homogenous-type posts in simulated models of a maxillary central incisor. Two models of FGSPs consisting of a multilayer xTi-yHA composite design, where zirconia and alumina was added as the first layer for models A and B respectively were compared to homogenous zirconia post (model C) and a titanium post (model D). The amount of Ti and HA in the FGSP models was varied in gradations. 3D-FEA was performed on all models and stress distributions were investigated along the dental post. In addition, interface stresses between the posts and their surrounding structures were investigated under vertical, oblique, and horizontal loadings. Strain distribution along the post-dentine interface was also investigated. The results showed that FGSPs models, A and B demonstrated better stress distribution than models C and D, indicating that dental posts with multilayered structure dissipate localized and interfacial stress and strain more efficiently than homogenous-type posts. Keywords: Heterogeneous structure, Functionally graded design, Multilayer post, Interfacial Stress, Simulated model

INTRODUCTION
The restoration of endodontically treated teeth is a challenging task that usually involves the treatment of teeth with significant loss of tooth structure. It has been suggested that a post should only be used when the remaining coronal tooth tissue can no longer provide adequate support and retention for restoration1,2). Nowadays, we see a variety of metallic and non-metallic materials such as gold, titanium, stainless steel, carbon, ceramic, zirconia and fibre reinforced composites being used for dental posts that provide retention to the core replacing the lost coronal part of the tooth structure. Until the mid-1980s, the indirect cast, post-core system was considered the safest way to restore an endodontically treated tooth3). However, the fabrication of cast posts and cores is often a time consuming and expensive procedure as it entails an intermediate restorative phase. In contrast, the utilization of prefabricated posts, combined with different types of core materials, is a much easier process that can be performed in one visit4). In the past, it was thought that posts reinforced endodontically treated teeth5,6), however, other studies have shown otherwise a post may be a predisposing factor for root fracture7,8). Another issue which has been widely discussed in the literature until today is the most appropriate material for posts9). The most highly recommended material for reducing the risk of root fracture is flexible material that has a flexible dentine-like quality with a high Youngs modulus, such as fiber-reinforced composite posts10,11); however stress concentration may be focused at the post-dentine interface causing debonding of the post and movement of the core, resulting in

microleakage12). Conversely, rigid posts allow minimal tooth preparation due to the smaller post-diameters; however this may lead to root fracture13,14). For this reason, clinicians (dentists) are left with two choices: continuing to use posts with a high modulus, which could lead to irreparable failure, or choosing low modulus posts that can result in reparable failure9). Needless to say, post material should be similar to dentine in modulus elasticity exhibiting different properties at the coronal and apical portions of the tooth for better biomechanical performance. The concept of functionally graded materials (FGMs) is a new approach for the improvement of dental post material performance compared to traditional homogeneous and uniform materials15). This technique allows the production of materials with very different characteristics within the same material at various interfaces. FGM is an innovative new technology that is progressing rapidly in terms of the processing of materials and the computational modeling15). It has been found that the development of functionally graded biomaterials for implants in medical and dental applications allows the integration of dissimilar materials, without severe internal stress, by combining diverse properties into a single material16-20). The objective of this study was to investigate the stress distribution of functionally graded dental posts along the root canal system as compared to homogenoustype dental posts, as well as determining the stressstrain distribution at the post-dentine interfaces.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Finite element modeling Model Geometry A three-dimensional model of a maxillary central incisor

Color figures can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at J-STAGE. Received Oct 4, 2010: Accepted Jul 25, 2011 doi:10.4012/dmj.2010-161 JOI JST.JSTAGE/dmj/2010-161

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assumed to be axi-symmetrical along the vertical centreline. Mesh generation Mesh generation is an important procedure that subdivides the solid geometry of the incisor into smaller elements. ABAQUS/CAE provides a number of different meshing techniques. In the case of this study, a Free meshing technique was followed that included

was developed using Pro/Engineer software (Parametric Technology Corporation, Kendrick St., Needham, USA), based on the dimensions obtained from the literature21-23). The relevant components such as the alveolar bone, the periodontal ligament (PDL), dentine, a post, the core, the crown and the gutta-percha were also included in the geometric model (Fig. 1a) and their dimensions is shown in Table 1. The geometry of the post and core within the maxillary central incisor was

Fig. 1 Table 1

(a) Schematic illustration of the geometric model and load directions. (b) Tetrahedral mesh structure of the geometric model.

Dimensions of the geometric model Part Crown Height Thickness at the top Thickness at the bottom edge Height Diameter Thickness over the post Length Width Ferrule height Length Diameter Length Diameter Thickness Thickness Dimension (mm) 10.5 2 1.5 8.5 6 2 14.5 8.5 3 16 1.5 5 1.5 0.18 2

Core

Dentine

Post Gutta-percha PDL Bone

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Fig. 2

Schematic illustration of the composition of the functionally graded structured posts.

tetrahedral elements to separate the parts, because of the complicated geometry of the models. This method made it possible to achieve convergence. In addition, for the purpose of this study, a four node, first-order, linear tetrahedral solid element was used (C3D4) for stress analysis. This C3D4 incorporated a fine mesh in order to obtain more accurate data, since constant stress on tetrahedral elements exhibited low convergence24). After conducting a pilot study, a tetrahedral mesh of 150465 (Fig. 1b) was used because the pilot study revealed an error of below 0.1% for two different mesh sizes: 150465 and 239906. Boundary condition The boundary condition for the nodes was along the bottom end line of the models, referred to as alveolar bone as advocated by Yang et al.25). All components were assumed to be perfectly bonded without any gaps between the components. Three different types of loading conditions were chosen as illustrated in Fig. 1a: (i) A vertical load applied to the top of the crown to simulate loading during bruxism; P1=100 N26,27). (ii) An oblique load, angled at 45, to simulate the masticatory force; P2=100 N26). (iii) A horizontal load to simulate external traumatic forces; P3=100 N26,27). Materials and their elastic properties A number of FGSP designs with various compositions

were investigated in a pilot study to ensure the best combination for the FGSPs. The most significant results were seen in four layered FGSP, where the first layer is either zirconia (model A) or alumina (model B) and the other three layers are made from xTi-yHA compositions, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The elastic modulus of FGSPs was estimated by applying the rule of mixture inspired by the theory of composite materials as seen in the following equation28): 2 1 f 1 E1 f E 1 + 2 2 2 Ecomposite= where, (1) 2 1 and 2 are Poissons ratios for the first and second components in each layer. E1 and E2 are the elastic modulus of the first and second components in each layer. f1 and f2 are the volume fractions for the first and second components in each layer. The Poissons ratio for the FGSPs was also estimated using the following formula: 1 + 2 (2) = 2 The elastic properties of zirconia (in model C) and titanium (in model D) posts and the other materials used in the geometric models are presented in Table 2. Any other stresses that may be introduced during the endodontic treatment were ignored.

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Table 2 Elastic properties

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Materials Dentine Titanium PDL Alveolar bone Gutta-percha Zirconia Ceramic crown Composite resin core Hydroxyapatite Alumina

Youngs Modulus (GPa) 18.60 116 68.9103 13.70 0.96103 200 120 16.60 40 380

Poissons ratio 0.30 0.33 0.40 0.30 0.40 0.33 0.28 0.24 0.27 0.25

References 10, 29) 30) 31) 31) 10) 32) 33) 26) 16) 34)

Finite element analysis The generation of the finite element model, the calculation of the stress distributions and the processing were carried out using ABAQUS/CAE Professional Version (Simulia, Valley St., Providence, USA). Stress patterns were taken at various locations; (i) at the centre of the posts; (ii) along the surface of the post at the post-dentine interface and (iii) in the centre of the root canal. The strain distribution was investigated at the post-dentine interface and the maximum principal stress in each component (X, Y and Z) was also studied. In spite of this, no additional information was obtained about the geometrical symmetry of the model along the vertical axis (Y axis) and the direction of the exerted loads; which are parallel, perpendicular, and oblique at 45.

The stress distribution along the dental posts in models A, B, C and D when loaded vertically, obliquely and horizontally are shown in Fig. 5. The maximum principle stress concentration along the post can be observed in models C and D. In contrast, models A and B showed a consistently lower stress distribution along the dental posts. Maximum principle stress and strain distributions at the post-dentine interface Figures 6 and 7 showed the stress and strain distributions at the dentine-post interface. In the FGSP models, the stress at the coronal area were negligible, while it increased at the cervical part of the dentine ending with gradual changes and fluctuations at the apical part of the post-dentine interface (Fig. 6). FGSP models demonstrated less strain distribution under vertical loading than model C and D at the apical part (Fig. 7a). While at the junction between the middle and coronal parts, FGSPs showed higher localized strain. For oblique and horizontal loadings, the FGSP models demonstrated less strain at the post-dentine interface from the cervical part to the apical part of the dentine (Figs. 7b and c). However, the strain distribution fluctuated at the coronal part of the FGSPs (Figs. 7b and c).

RESULTS
Stress analysis under various load conditions The maximum principle stress distributions at various loading directions are shown in Fig. 3. The highest stress regions are at the top of the crown and the apical part of the root, when a vertical load was applied (Fig. 3a). On the other hand, models C and D showed considerable stress at the apical region of the posts (Fig. 3a). Oblique loading caused stress to decrease progressively from the outer to the inner part of the root (Fig. 3b). However, it was evident that there were differences between the stress distribution in FGSP models, A and B compared to models C and D, having zirconia and titanium posts respectively. Figure 4a shows the stress distribution in the centre of the root canal indicating higher stress in models C and D. Horizontal loading also showed a high level of stress with a similar distributions pattern to oblique loading (Fig. 3c). Moreover, stress concentration can be seen in the centre of the root canal (Fig. 4b). When the posts were removed, stress distribution was seen on the canal walls, suggesting that the stress distribution was spread over a larger area, yet the maximum principle stress was s still within the same range (Figs. 4a and 4b).

DISCUSSION
The Finite element method was used to investigate stress in a human maxillary central incisor which had been restored using various types of dental posts. A high number of elements was used in this present study to give a better estimation of the stress distribution. Although Holmes et al.35), Lanza et al.36) and Zarone et al.37) have included a cement layer in their finite element analysis, others such as Cailleteau et al.38), Joshi et al.26) and Toksavul et al.39) have omitted the cement layer. In this study, the cement layer was not included as we aimed to address the stress distribution of newly designed dental posts. The highest value of stress distribution was recorded at the post-dentine interface when oblique and horizontal loadings were applied.

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Fig. 3

Contour plots of the maximum principle stress distributions in models A [FGSP: zirconia/(xTi + yHA)]; B [FGSP: alumina/(xTi + yHA)]; C [zirconia post]; D [titanium post].

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Fig. 4

Contour plots of the maximum principle stresses distribution in dentine under oblique and horizontal loads for models A [FGSP: zirconia/(xTi +yHA)]; B [FGSP: alumina/(xTi + yHA)]; C [zirconia post] and D [titanium post].

These findings are in agreement with Zarone et al.37), who recorded a high stress concentration at the post-dentine interface. They also stated that when the dental post is made from a material with a high modulus, it will adversely alter the natural biomechanical behaviour of the restored tooth when functioning. Ideally, dental posts should stabilize the core and not weaken the root40). When occlusal force is applied coronally, the force is transferred to dentine through the core and post system. In such situations, stress concentrates at the cervical and apical part of the tooth. Stress concentration at the cervical region is likely to be due to an increase in the flexure of the compromised tooth structure, while stress concentration at the apical region is generally due to tapering of the root canal and the characteristics of the post41). High stress concentrations were also observed at the apical termination of the post42). The stiffness mismatch between the intra-radicular post and the dental tissue also resulted in high stress concentrations along the post-dentine interface27). It has therefore been suggested

that an ideal dental post would have high stiffness at the cervical region and that this stiffness should be gradually reduced to match the dentine stiffness at the apical end43). The compositional gradient of multilayer materials achieved in FGMs has been identified as a possible solution for this problem of mismatch of material properties. Drake et al.44) used the law of power distribution to show that significant reduction in stress and plastic strain can be achieved by increasing the gradient of thickness of ceramic materials and tailoring the exponent to provide a gradual compositional change near the parts exhibiting high modulus and little plasticity. Matsuo et al.45) reported a reduction in the concentration of stress at the apical area when FGM dental posts were used. Vertical load analysis The highest value of maximum principle stress was observed at the apical part of the posts in models C and D under vertical loading. However for models A and B, there was lower stress concentration at the apical part

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Fig. 5

Maximum principle stress distributions along the center of the posts from coronal to apical when loaded vertically (a), obliquely (b) and horizontally (c).

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Fig. 6

Maximum principle stress distributions at the interface between the posts and surrounding structures from coronal to apical when loaded vertically (a), obliquely (b) and horizontally (c).

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Fig. 7

Strain distributions at the interface between the posts and surrounding structures from coronal to apical when loaded vertically (a), obliquely (b) and horizontally (c).

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apical part. Similar trends were observed for oblique and horizontal loadings for all models (Fig. 6b, c). The strain behaviour at the middle and apical parts (Fig. 7b, c) corresponded to the stress analyses when oblique and horizontal loadings were applied. In the horizontal plane, the material was distributed uniformly, i.e. there were no changes in composition in a radial direction. Therefore, FGSPs showed slightly more shear strain distribution than the homogenous posts in the coronal part. Comparison between vertical, oblique and horizontal loadings Under horizontal and oblique loadings, the higher values of maximum principle stress are distributed mainly at the coronal and middle parts of the homogeneous posts. Then the stress reduces dramatically in the middle part of the posts, and becomes almost negligible at the apical part. However under vertical loading, the concentration of stress was low at the coronal parts but was noticeably high at the apical parts of the model C and model D posts. Vertical loading caused a high concentration of stress at the apical portion of the tooth, yet under horizontal and oblique loading, the stress became concentrated at the outer sides of the root. Also, the interface stress and strain increased in the middle of the tooth and grew progressively, fluctuating at the apical part under horizontal and oblique loadings. On the contrary, under vertical loading, the interface stress and strain increased at the coronal part and reached its maximum level at the apical part with little fluctuation. The concentration of stress caused by horizontal and oblique loading was higher than that caused by vertical loading at the apical part of the simulated posts. Thus, horizontal loading should be avoided as much as possible. These findings concurred with the results reported by Yang et al.47), who observed that greater deflection and higher stress is generated by horizontal loading. Under horizontal and oblique loadings, post material should be chosen carefully to ensure that the posts support the restored tooth and prevent high stress along the inner canal wall (Fig. 4). Ramakrishna et al.48) suggested that dental posts should be stiff in the coronal region, i.e. the core, so that the core is not stressed excessively when occlusal force is applied to the crown. Hence, an ideal dental post is one that has a high degree of stiffness at the coronal region, and which gradually reduces to a value similar to that of dentine at the apical end. This high stiffness eradicates stress from the core, and the gradual reduction in stiffness dissipates stress from the post to the dentine uniformly. This gradual dissipation of stress eliminates the concentration of stress and reduces interfacial shear stress. For vertical loading, materials that prevent a high concentration of stress at the apical portion of the tooth should be chosen. In addition, the stiffness of the entire post-core system must be able to resist the forces of mastication, with the least possible deformation49).

as shown in Fig. 3a. This is due to the functionally graded structural design of models A and B. The variation of Ti concentration in xTi-yHA provides a smooth change in the property of FGSPs, providing a reduction in the stress concentration46). Thus, FGSPs were successful in improving the stress dissipation and barring stress propagation in the tooth structure. Figure 5a shows the maximum principle stress concentrations along the dental posts. FGSPs displayed better stress distribution at the coronal and apical parts compared to homogenous posts. Although higher stress was observed at the middle portion of models A and B as shown in Fig. 5a, this value can be considered as negligible compared to models C and D. A considerably high stress concentration was detected at the apical parts of the posts in models C and D, which could be the reason for failure at the apical parts and the fracture of the root in commercially produced dental posts. The maximum principle stress distribution in the interface of the posts and their surrounding structure can be seen in Fig. 6a. FGSPs dissipated interface stress excellently from the coronal to the apical parts of the posts. The homogenous posts, on the other hand, transferred the stress through the whole interface, with two points of maximum stress located at the coronal and apical parts. The behaviour of models A and B was very similar, while models C and D only demonstrated similar behaviour towards the apical part of the post interface. The strain distribution in the interface of the post and its surrounding structure is shown in Fig. 7a. Compared to homogenous posts, FGSPs showed less strain values at the apical part. Localized strain values in FGSPs showed a peak at the junction between the coronal and the middle third, when a vertical load was applied. The occurrence of this peak may be due to the limitations of the FEA program where an estimate of 1 mm thickness has been used for the transition layer between the first and second layers (Fig. 2), assuming a uniform composition. However, this may be inaccurate when FGMs are fabricated. In reality, a gradual change in the composition of the first and second layers is normal, resulting in what is called a transition zone. Oblique and horizontal load analysis The maximum principle stress was more prominent at the outer sides of the root canal for models C and D, compared to models A and B, as shown in Fig. 3b, c. This is probably due to the low stiffness of the FGSPs at the apical part of the root canal. The results therefore further substantiate the claim that FGSPs help to reduce and dissipate stress concentration. Stress distributions at the post-dentine interface are illustrated in Fig. 6b, c. FGSPs dissipated or even eliminated the interface stress from the coronal portion to the middle part of the post. However, the interface stress was high in the middle part of the post and increased progressively at the apical part, fluctuating in value. In models C and D, maximum principle stress increased dramatically throughout the interface, with a higher intensity and fluctuations in stress values at the

Dent Mater J 2011; 30(6): 869880 CONCLUSION

This study shows that FGSPs exhibited several advantages in terms of stress distribution compared to posts fabricated from homogeneous material. The stress and strain distribution at the post-dentine interface of FGSPs was better than that of homogenous posts. Functionally graded materials approach can be used to design new dental posts that enhance the success of endodontically treated teeth.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to sincerely thank Mr. Bernard Saw Lip Huat, at the Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya for his invaluable advice in FEA. This study was funded by PS354/2008C, University of Malaya.

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