Modeling the Mechanical Behavior of the Periodontal Ligament in Response to Externally Applied Loading

2012年，加拿大健康信息研究所(Canada Institute For Health Information)估计，加拿大人在牙科保健上的花费超过110亿美元，预计这个数字还会上升。牙周膜(PDL)是连接牙齿和周围牙槽骨的结缔组织，是牙科最重要的领域之一。在正畸治疗中，牙周膜在支持牙齿、分配外力和促进牙齿移动方面起着至关重要的作用。因此，对牙周膜对外加载荷的反应有一个完整的了解对于牙科领域是至关重要的。本项目的目的是研究PDL的粘弹性行为，并进一步了解它如何影响牙齿-PDL-骨复合体(TPBC)中的载荷分布。

In 2012, the Canadian Institute for Health Information estimated that over $11 billion dollars was spent by Canadians on dental care, with this number projected to rise. One primary area of importance to dentistry is the periodontal ligament (PDL), connective tissue joining the tooth to the surrounding alveolar bone. The PDL plays a critical role in tooth support, distributing applied loads, and facilitating tooth movement during orthodontic treatment. As a result, having a complete understanding of PDL response to applied loading is vital to the field of dentistry. The objective of this program is to investigate the viscoelastic behavior of the PDL and further our understanding of how it effects load distribution in the tooth-PDL-bone complex (TPBC).