A preliminary approach in the prediction of orthodontic bone remodeling by coupling experiments, theory and numerical models

Orthodontic treatments are based on a prolonged application of mechanical forces on the teeth through orthodontic appliances, leading to tooth movement due to the remodeling of the surrounding bone. Bone response is dependent on the biological reactions occurring in the periodontal ligament (PDL) and more specifically on those related to vascular changes (Pavlin and Gluhak-Heinrich 2001). Hence, optimal forces and moments are required to obtain the desired tooth displacements without generating deleterious effects. Although the biological events occurring during orthodontic tooth movement are nowadays better understood, the correlation between orthodontic force systems, desmodontal reactions and bone remodeling is not well established (Meikle 2005). Little is known about the forces and moments developed on more than two adjacent teeth (Badawi et al. 2009). In this work, we focus our analysis on a buccal upper right canine in infraclusion and extract the experimental measurements of the mechanical forces developed onto the complete dental arch. These are then transferred into a numerical finite element (FE) model to determine the PDL deformation and hence, through a theoretical numerical model, quantify the cellular mechanobiological reactions at the root of orthodontic bone remodeling.