Research progress in biomechanical properties and numerical simulation of periodontal ligament during orthodontic tooth movement / 国际生物医学工程杂志

ABSTRACT

Orthodontic tooth movement is achieved by remodeling periodontal ligament, alveolar bone and other periodontal tissues in response to mechanical loading. The periodontal ligament is the fibrous connective tissue connecting cementum and alveolar bone, which plays an important role in the transmission, absorption and dispersion of supporting teeth and biting force. When orthodontic forces are applied to the teeth, load transfer occurs from the tooth through the periodontal ligament to the alveolar bone. The remodeling of periodontal ligament interacts with the alveolar bone formation and absorption alternately. As the initial factor of orthodontic tooth movement, the stress/strain of periodontal ligament is involved in the process of alveolar bone remodeling and affects the direction and speed of tooth movement. Therefore, the biomechanical properties of the periodontal ligament have received extensive attention. In this paper, the related researches on the structural changes and biomechanical characteristics of the periodontal ligament during orthodontic tooth movement were reviewed as well as the researches on the mechanical constitutive model of the periodontal ligament. The mechanical response and biomechanical mechanism of the periodontal ligament were discussed in order to provide a theoretical basis for accurate numerical simulation of orthodontic tooth movement.