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The objective of this study was to characterize the material properties of the periodontal ligament (PDL). Since the PDL undergoes the largest deformations when a load is applied to the tooth crown, its material properties mainly govern the resulting tooth deflection. By comparing experiments on tooth mobility with a Finite Element simulation using individual and realistic geometry models of the measured teeth, information about the mechanical properties of the PDL can be obtained. To investigate in vivo tooth mobility, a special experimental setup has been developed. The experimental results showed highly non-linear and time dependent material properties of tooth deflection as they are known for other soft biological tissues.6 Since in vivo tooth deflection is not an uniaxial tensional experiment, it is not possible to determine material parameters of the PDL. For this reason, a geometry model of the measured tooth was generated using computer tomography data and in a Finite Element simulation tooth deflection under external forces was calculated. A comparison of the simulation with the experimental data lead to an optimized characterization of the PDL in view of its mechanical properties.
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Dorow et al. (2003) studied this question.
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