TY - JOUR
T1 - Contact stress distribution after unilateral condylar fracture with angulation of the fractured part
T2 - A finite element model study
AU - Helmer, Loreine M. L.
AU - Klop, Cornelis
AU - Lobbezoo, Frank
AU - de Lange, Jan
AU - Harm Koolstra, Jan
AU - Dubois, Leander
N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the Strassbourg Osteosynthesis Research Group, Tuttlingen Germany (grant number AOCMFS-19-05H). The organization had no involvement in the study design, collection and interpretation of data, writing of the manuscript, and/or decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s)
PY - 2023/10/1
Y1 - 2023/10/1
N2 - After a fracture of the condyle, the head of the condyle is often pulled inwards, which causes the fractured part to angulate medially. This change can cause a disbalance in the masticatory system. The disbalance could lead to contact stress differences within the temporomandibular joints (TMJs) which might induce remodelling within the TMJ to restore the balance. The contact stress in the fractured condyle during open and closing movements is expected to decrease, while the contact stress in the non-fractured condyle will increase. In a clinical situation this is hard to investigate. Therefore, a finite element model (FEM) was used. In the FEM a fractured right condyle with an angulation was induced, which was placed at different degrees, varying from 5° to 50° in steps of 5°. This study shows only minor differences in amount of contact stress between the fractured and the non-fractured condyle. The amount of contact stress in the condyles does not increase with a higher degree of angulation. However, with larger angulations, the contact stress within the fractured condyle is more centralized. Clinically, this more centralized area could be associated with complaints, such as pain. In conclusion, due to the more centralized contact stress in the fractured condyle, one would expect some minor remodelling on the fractured side with more angulation.
AB - After a fracture of the condyle, the head of the condyle is often pulled inwards, which causes the fractured part to angulate medially. This change can cause a disbalance in the masticatory system. The disbalance could lead to contact stress differences within the temporomandibular joints (TMJs) which might induce remodelling within the TMJ to restore the balance. The contact stress in the fractured condyle during open and closing movements is expected to decrease, while the contact stress in the non-fractured condyle will increase. In a clinical situation this is hard to investigate. Therefore, a finite element model (FEM) was used. In the FEM a fractured right condyle with an angulation was induced, which was placed at different degrees, varying from 5° to 50° in steps of 5°. This study shows only minor differences in amount of contact stress between the fractured and the non-fractured condyle. The amount of contact stress in the condyles does not increase with a higher degree of angulation. However, with larger angulations, the contact stress within the fractured condyle is more centralized. Clinically, this more centralized area could be associated with complaints, such as pain. In conclusion, due to the more centralized contact stress in the fractured condyle, one would expect some minor remodelling on the fractured side with more angulation.
KW - Condylar fracture
KW - Conservative treatment
KW - Contact stress
KW - Finite element model
KW - Resorption
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U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2023.111769
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2023.111769
M3 - Article
C2 - 37683378
SN - 0021-9290
VL - 159
SP - 1
EP - 6
JO - Journal of Biomechanics
JF - Journal of Biomechanics
M1 - 111769
ER -