Determining Mechanical Causes that Produce Dental Wear Using Finite Element Method

Abstract

Dental wear has accompanied human evolution, being strictly related to its way of life. Dental wear is a lesion of dental hard tissue commonly found in dental practice. Starting from the virtual skull model, the virtual models of the two upper premolars on the left hemisphere were generated, then the finite element method evaluated the stresses, displacements and strains generated by the resistance forces from the dental tissues of the two premolars during mandibular movements with occlusal contact. It is found that the value of these results increases as dental wear increases. This phenomenon is more visible in the teeth where the value almost doubles. Two explanations could be given for this situation: mechanically, these stresses are inversely proportional to the volume of the dental structures and, as they reduce, through dental wear, increase the stress, also, the sharp edges resulting from dental wear are mechanical stress concentrators.