Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Teeth and their sustentacular tissues are characterized by irregular shapes, variant mechanical properties, as well as complex stress distribution, which result in difficulty in simulating their stress states. A series of maxillary dentition finite element model (FEM) with high precision has been established since Tanne established the first maxillary central incisor finite element model. However, studies with regard to maxillary anterior teeth combined with orthotic devices are rarely reported. 
OBJECTIVES: To establish a high precision three-dimensional FEM of maxillary anterior teeth segment-periodontal tissues-orthotic devices using thin-layer CT technique combined with image processing softwares and three-dimensional modeling.
METHODS: A healthy young woman was selected to get CT scan on maxillary anterior teeth segment, periodontal supporting tissues, treatment devices and a three-dimensional FEM was generated, including maxillary anterior teeth segment, periodontal tissues (periodontium, cortical bone, cancellous bone) and orthotic devices (brackets and wire).
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The three-dimensional FEM of maxillary anterior teeth was established, and divided by three pyramid tetrahedron structure, which consisted of 131 920 elements and 194 321 nodes. The three-dimensional FEM of maxillary anterior segment exhibits a better geometric similarity and mechanical similarity. By simplifying periodontium as linear elastic material, this model benefits further analysis and optimizations biomechanical design.