Finite Element Analysis Applied to Dentoalveolar Trauma: Methodology Description

Abstract

Dentoalveolar traumatic injuries are among the clinical conditions most frequently treated in dental practice. However, few studies so far have addressed the biomechanical aspects of these events, probably as a result of difficulties in carrying out satisfactory experimental and clinical studies as well as the unavailability of truly scientific methodologies. The aim of this paper was to describe the use of finite element analysis applied to the biomechanical evaluation of dentoalveolar trauma. For didactic purposes, the methodological process was divided into steps that go from the creation of a geometric model to the evaluation of final results, always with a focus on methodological characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages, so as to allow the reader to customize the methodology according to specific needs. Our description shows that the finite element method can faithfully reproduce dentoalveolar trauma, provided the methodology is closely followed and thoroughly evaluated.

Stress distribution on maxillary central incisorunder similar traumatic situations with different loading forces: a 3-D finite element analysis.

“…Concerning the validation of the finite element mesh, a simple complementary numerical method was used in an attempt to achieve a greater reliability of results and a confirmation of the cohesion of dental structures, along with the use of a commercial software already grounded in scientific literature. 5,10,12,13,15,16 Due to the application of the same impact direction, differences in stress distribution in the crown region of the tooth were not observed between the simulations. Some other factors were also similar, such as the lack of stress dissipation to the crown dentin, a fact that can be explained by the physicomechanical properties of dental enamel.…”

“…12 This methodology allowed obtaining relevant results in addition to comprehend a good part of the current scientific literature. For modeling of the DAJ, computed tomography (CT) of the middle third of the surface comprising the entire region of the jaw was performed in a 23-year-old healthy male volunteer without a history of dental anomalies, dental caries, periodontal diseases or dental trauma in the region of the maxillary incisors.…”

Traumatismo dentoalveolares, características clínicas e imagenológicas: Una revisión de la literatura

“…El trauma en las piezas dentarias anteriores superiores y sus tejidos de soporte es relativamente común entre niños y adolescentes (19). En el primer caso, se debe a que, al aprender a caminar, por su débil equilibrio, los niños tienden a caerse y lesionarse con mayor frecuencia la porción coronaria de las piezas dentarias, y en el segundo caso, puede atribuirse a la realización de deportes de contacto o de alto riesgo, violencia, accidentes de tránsito, caídas o accidentes médicos dentales.…”

“…La avulsión o extrarticulación es el traumatismo dentoalveolar más frecuente. Es el desplazamiento completo de la pieza dentaria fuera del alveolo, ocasionado por un trauma con alta resiliencia de la estructura de soporte del diente por el desgarro de las fibras del ligamento periodontal (19,27,60,61). Se puede evaluar con una radiografía panorámica, además de la avulsión si existe fractura dentoalveolar de otras piezas dentarias (1) ( fig.…”

High-Biofidelity Biomodel Generated from Three-Dimensional Imaging (Cone-Beam Computed Tomography): A Methodological Proposal

“…Compared to other biomodels presented in other studies, the proposed model has a much better defined morphology and contemplates different properties of all the tissues that make up the dental organ. e study carried out by Da Silva [43], where the faithful morphology of an incisor tooth was obtained, takes into account all the tissues of a molar. e mechanical properties of each material were taken from the literature and are the same as those taken for the present work, as well as border conditions and the same range of applied loads.…”