In vivo measurements and numerical analysis of the biomechanical characteristics of the human periodontal ligament.

The periodontal ligament is a complex tissue with respect to its biomechanical behaviour. It is important to understand the mechanical behaviour of the periodontal ligament during physiological loading in healthy patients as well as during the movement of the tooth in orthodontic treatment or in patients with periodontal disease, as these might affect the mechanical properties of the periodontal ligament (PDL). Up to now, only a limited amount of in vivo data is available concerning this issue. The aim of this study has been to determine the time dependent material properties of the PDL in an experimental in vivo study, using a novel device that is able to measure tooth displacement intraorally. Using the intraoral loading device, tooth deflections at various velocities were realised in vivo on human teeth. The in vivo investigations were performed on the upper left central incisors of five volunteers aged 21-33 years with healthy periodontal tissue. A deflection, applied at the centre of the crown, was linearly increased from 0 to 0.15mm in a loading period of between 0.1 and 5.0s. Individual numerical models were developed based on the experimental results to simulate the relationship between the applied force and tooth displacement. The numerical force/displacement curves were fitted to the experimental ones to obtain the material properties of the human PDL. For the shortest loading time of 0.1s, the experimentally determined forces were between 7.0 and 16.2N. The numerically calculated Young's modulus varied between 0.9MPa (5.0s) and 1.2MPa (0.1s). By considering the experimentally and numerically obtained force curves, forces decreased with increasing loading time. The experimental data gained in this study can be used for the further development and verification of a multiphasic constitutive law of the PDL.

Development of a novel intraoral measurement device to determine the biomechanical characteristics of the human periodontal ligament.

Periodontal diseases like gingivitis and periodontitis have damaging effects on the periodontium and commonly affect the mechanical properties of the periodontal ligament (PDL), which in the end might lead to loss of teeth. Monitoring tooth mobility and changes of the material properties of the PDL might help in early diagnosis of periodontal diseases and improve their prognosis. It was the aim of this study to develop a novel intraoral device to determine the biomechanical characteristics of the periodontal ligament. This includes the measurement of applied forces and resulting tooth displacement in order to investigate the biomechanical behaviour of the periodontium with varying loading protocols with respect to velocity and tooth displacement. The developed device uses a piezoelectric actuator to apply a displacement to a tooth's crown, and the resulting force is measured by an integrated force sensor. To measure the tooth displacement independently and non-invasively, two magnets are fixed on the teeth. The change in the magnetic field caused by the movement of the magnets is measured by a total of 16 Hall sensors. The displacement of the tooth is calculated from the movement of the magnets. The device was tested in vitro on premolars of four porcine mandibular segments and in vivo on two volunteers. The teeth were loaded with varying activation curves. Comparing the force progression of different activation velocities, the forces decreased with decreasing velocity. Intensive testing demonstrated that the device fulfils all requirements. After acceptance of the ethical committee, further testing in clinical measurements is planned.