4. Results
The measurement of the axial movements showed
a linear relation of force to movement. Forces between
1 and 90N caused movements of 0.005 and 0.04mm
(Table 1). Higher forces resulted in movements of a higher
extent. The maximum movement in axial direction was
0.06mm (Fig. 6). This movement was achieved with forces
of 1600 N. Higher forces up to 2000N did not cause
a higher extent of movement.
During horizontal loading higher values of movements
were seen with lower values of forces. The maximum
value of movement during horizontal loading was
0.16mm. This value was already achieved with forces of
30N (Table 2). By using lower forces a linear relationship
was seen in horizontal movements, too (Fig. 7).
The force}distance curves show a linear coherence of
movements and forces of low and middle extent in radial
and axial direction. The absolute strength to achieve
equal movements is higher with axial loading. Forces
have to be 8 times higher to achieve the same extent of
movement in axial as in horizontal direction.
The scanning electron microscopy showed no signs
of material damage in the implant neck region after long-term loading. There were no signs of fractures in the
welding region (Fig. 8).