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Published in:
2012 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
Finite Element Analysis of Asymptomatic TMJ Disc during Mouth Opening
Authors : Shuang Ren, Qihong Li, Qiguo Rong
Published in: System Simulation and Scientific Computing
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
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In the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), overloading induced by big mouth opening appears to be important in the casade of events leading to temporomandibular disorders (TMD). In this study, the stress distribution of the disc was explored during big mouth opening. For this purpose, finiteelement models of the disc of different mouth opening degree were used. The disc was loaded with its real displacement for 18 different states of mouth opening. In the model, the posterior zone suffered higher tensile stress, and the stress level increased with the progress of the opening movement. The compressive stress level in the intermediate zone is much smaller, and kept unchanged through mouth opening. Lower tangential stresses were found in the healthy articular disc during mouth opening. This indicates that stress distribution in the articular disc changed with the progress of the opening movement. Excessive mouth opening can induce tissue damage.