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Splints and stress transmission to teeth: an in vitro experiment
M Halachmi1, A Gavish, E Gazit
1Department of Occlusion and Behavioral Sciences, The Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Objective:
To determine the influence of hard and soft splints with two thicknesses on the stress transmission to the tooth supporting the splint and the opposite tooth.
Methods:
Continuous vertical forces up to 500N were applied to two opposite first molar phantom teeth using a universal loading machine. Deformation was detected by strain gauges attached to the cervical area of the buccal and lingual aspects of the lower tooth. Strain, as a function of force, was collected and the slope, defined as the compliance (in microS/N) of the system, was calculated.
Results:
The highest compliance was found with hard splints. When splints were constructed on the upper molar, the highest compressive compliance was registered on the buccal side (2.8 microS/N) and tension compliance on the lingual side (-0.35 microS/N). When constructed on the lower tooth, the opposite was found. Soft splints resulted in compression on both the buccal and lingual sides when adjusted to the upper or lower tooth. A higher compliance was found on the buccal side (1.26 microS/N), while on the lingual side, the values varied (0.48-0.78 microS/N).
Conclusions:
Soft splints are more efficient in protecting teeth against the damage of bending forces although there is an increase of compression forces. The tooth opposing a hard splint is exposed to a higher risk of bending forces.