Investigation of Maxilla Central Incisor Mechanical Response to the Mimical One-Bite Masticatory Load using Finite Element Method
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The maxillary central and lateral incisors are the most commonly fractured teeth due to their anatomic position in the oral cavity, and the dental fractures are classified based on the extent of enamel, dentin, pulp, and root involvement. Furthermore, the injury severity is influenced by factors such as the energy, direction, and shape of the impacting object. This applied to both trauma and biting cases. While in one biting, the incisors could be subjected to a multiple load scenario depending on both masticatory activity and the biting object. This is in opposition to a typical loading condition, such as a rigid ball or tooth-tooth contact. Since finite element analysis (FEA) is a reliable approach in biomechanical evaluation, therefore, this study aims to perform FEA to investigate the maxilla central incisor mechanical response to the mimical “one-bite” masticatory load of various objects and biting direction. It can be observed that a time-dependent load profile during one bite consisted of multiple load scenarios, such as an impact-like load and loads of multiple magnitudes and directions. This caused, in the simulation, the incisors to have different stress distribution, concentration, and potential failure regions in different time steps. This study fulfils the objective to enhance an understanding of the behaviour of a specific tooth (incisors) and to lay a foundation for further improvement of the numerical approach and other studies, such as different tooth structures, treatment, and dental symptomatic conditions.
