Modeling of the effect of friction in the temporomandibular joint on displacement of its disc during prolonged clenching.

Purpose: The effect of the frictional coefficient in the temporomandibular joint on the disc during prolonged clenching was examined.

Materials And Methods: For this purpose, a finite element model of the temporomandibular joint based on magnetic resonance images from a volunteer subject was used. Muscle forces applied for clenching were used as a loading condition for stress analysis during 10 minutes.

Three-dimensional finite-element model of the human temporomandibular joint disc during prolonged clenching.

In the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), overloading induced by prolonged clenching appears to be important in the cascade of events leading to disc displacement. In this study, the effect of disc displacement on joint stresses during prolonged clenching was studied. For this purpose, finite-element models of the TMJ, with and without disc displacement, were used.

Age-associated changes in viscoelastic properties of the bovine temporomandibular joint disc.

To test the hypothesis that compressive properties of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disc change with age, we investigated its viscoelastic properties and stress-relaxation behavior under compression. Compressive stress-relaxation tests were performed in different regions of bovine discs of various ages. For each disc, specimens were derived from three different regions (anterior, central, and posterior).