Numerical and clinical study of the biomechanical behaviour of teeth under orthodontic loading using a headgear appliance.

It was the purpose of this study to analyse the biomechanical behaviour of posterior teeth under headgear traction with neighbouring teeth in different eruption stages. For doing so a finite element (FE) model of the right part of a human maxilla was developed, based on an almost anatomically correct commercial surface data set of a human maxilla. The FE model included the first molar (M1) with surrounding tooth supporting structures as well as the second (M2) and third molars (M3) in different eruption stages.