Open Access

ARTICLE

Clinical Data-Driven Finite Element Analysis of the Kinetics of Chewing Cycles in Order to Optimize Occlusal Reconstructions

by Simon Martinez¹, Jürgen Lenz¹, Hans Schindler^1,2, Willi Wendler¹, Stefan Rues³, Karl Schweizerhof^1,*, Sophia Terebesi², Nikolaos Nikitas Giannakopoulos², Marc Schmitter²

1 Institute of Mechanics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
2 Department of Prosthodontics, Dental School, University of W¨urzburg, W¨urzburg, Germany
3 Department of Prosthodontics, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

* Corresponding Author:Karl Schweizerhof. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advances in Computational Mechanics and Optimization
To celebrate the 95th birthday of Professor Karl Stark Pister)

Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences 2021, 129(3), 1259-1281. https://doi.org/10.32604/cmes.2021.017422

Received 09 May 2021; Accepted 05 August 2021; Issue published 25 November 2021

Abstract

The occlusal design plays a decisive role in the fabrication of dental restorations. Dentists and dental technicians depend on mechanical simulations of mandibular movement that are as accurate as possible, in particular, to produce interference-free yet chewing-efficient dental restorations. For this, kinetic data must be available, i.e., movements and deformations under the influence of forces and stresses. In the present study, so-called functional data were collected from healthy volunteers to provide consistent information for proper kinetics. For the latter purpose, biting and chewing forces, electrical muscle activity and jaw movements were registered synchronously, and individual magnetic resonance tomograms (MRI) were prepared. The acquired data were then added to a large complex finite element model of the complete masticatory system using the functional information obtained and individual anatomical geometries so that the kinetics of the chewing process and teeth grinding could be realistically simulated. This allows developing algorithms that optimize computer-aided manufacturing of dental prostheses close to occlusion. In this way, a failure-free function of the dental prosthesis can be guaranteed and its damage during usage can be reduced or prevented even including endosseous implants.

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Keywords

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