The effect of variation in occlusal loading on the development of abfraction lesions: a finite element study

Abfraction or non-carious cervical tooth loss is poorly understood and one factor thought to contribute to the development of these lesions is the effect of occlusal loading. The aim of this study was to examine the effect that varying the position of an occlusal load would have on the stress contour in the cervical region of a lower second premolar using a two-dimensional plane strain finite element model. A 500 N load was applied vertically to either of the cusp tips or in various positions along the cuspal inclines. It was found that loads applied to the inner aspects of the buccal or the lingual cuspal inclines produced maximum principal stress values of up to 358 MPa that exceed the known failure stresses for enamel.