3-D Finite Element Analysis of Transient Heat Transfer and Thermal Stress in a Crowned Mandibular First Molar Tooth

A three-dimensional transient thermoelastic finite element model was developed to simulate a crowned mandibular first molar tooth under thermal loading as a result of hot liquid intake in the mouth. The effect of crown materials and cement types on thermal stress distribution in a crowned tooth was studied. A single layer crown (Empress) and a double layer crown (In-Ceram) were used as model materials, representing the two extremes in strength of contemporary materials compared to porcelain fused to metal crowns. Resin, glass ionomer, and zinc phosphate cements were evaluated, representing the upper and lower limits of modulus of elasticity currently available. The temperature changes as a result of hot liquid intake were calculated. Then, the thermal stress distributions due to the temperature changes were obtained. The hot liquid was of temperature 60 degC in all prepared cases. The distribution of temperature and stress were plotted and analyzed for all cases. A comparison between different cases was made to achieve the most suitable crown and cement materials