Biomechanics of the mandible: Part II. Development of a 3-dimensional finite element model to study mandibular functional deformation in subjects treated with dental implants.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to develop a finite element model of the human mandible and to compare the functional deformation predicted by the model with that detected clinically.

Materials And Methods: Three patterns of mandibular deformation (medial convergence, corporal rotation and dorso-ventral shear) were studied clinically in 12 subjects using custom-fabricated displacement transducers mounted on endosseous implants in the premolar region. The mandibular arches of 12 patients with dental implants were modeled using finite element techniques based on computerized tomographic (CT) scan images of the jaw.

Development of a three-dimensional finite element model of a human mandible containing endosseous dental implants. I. Mathematical validation and experimental verification.

The purpose of this study was to mathematically validate and clinically verify a finite element model (FEM) of the human mandible and to compare the functional deformation predicted by the model with that detected clinically. Mandibular surface strain, using 11 single strain gauges, and medial convergence (MC), using a custom-fabricated linear variable differential transformer (LVDT), were recorded in a dried human jaw. The mandible was treated with two endosseous implants, placed bilaterally in the premolar area, and mounted in a rig that simulated natural function of the jaw.

Biomechanics of the mandible part I: measurement of mandibular functional deformation using custom-fabricated displacement transducers.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure corporal approximation, dorsoventral shear, and corporal rotation in edentulous subjects treated with dental implants, during normal mandibular movements.

Materials And Methods: Three patterns of jaw deformation (corporal approximation [CA], corporal rotation [CR], and dorsoventral [DV] shear) were measured using custom-fabricated displacement transducers in 12 edentulous subjects who had been treated with dental implants. Measurements were made in real time using a multichannel analogue/digital converter and a personal computer for data storage and analysis.