Viscoelastic Characterization of the Periodontal Ligament under Common Orthodontic Loading

This paper presents a numerical investigation on the PDL structure of the human tooth to predict its response and behavior under an external force where, there is lack of studies. Currently, orthodontic treatments are uncertain and maybe inefficient because of this data insufficiency. In the current study, time dependent analysis of stresses and strains in the tooth model were performed by COMSOL Multiphysics while PLD was studied as a viscoelastic material. In the next step, the stress-strain data were adapted by a system of springs and dashpots that can properly characterize the viscoelastic behavior. The model was evaluated by the match percentage to the numerical data. Variations of the model in the PDL tissue were also studied and an interpolating function was introduced for capturing the variations.