Análisis numérico del estado tensional del disco de la articulación temporomandibular bajo apretamiento mandibular

The disc of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is located between the mandibular condyle and temporal bone. Like in other articular cartilages, the TMJ disc presents viscoelastic characteristics that are largely dependent on its collagen fibre and proteoglycan composition and distribution. The disc material configuration allows the TMJ components to withstand the complex compressive, tensile and shear stress distribution prevailing during its function. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects in the disc under stress relaxation during prolonged clenching. To do this, two finite element models were used, one with uniform disc material property and another one with regionspecific disc material properties. The results confirm that both models are sufficiently accurate to analyse the stress distribution of the TMJ disc, and, particularly, the model with the region-specific disc material properties ensures better simulation of the disc behaviour.