Mechanical performance of Anatomic-Functional-Geometry dental treatments: A computational study

In this paper the biomechanical response of a novel dental preparation technique, referred to as the Anatomic-Functional-Geometry treatment (AFG), is investigated through a 3D nonlinear finite-element modelling approach. A comparative investigation against a standard technique employed in dental clinical practice is carried out, by simulating typical experimental mechanical tests and physiological functional conditions. Failure mechanisms of treated tooth models are investigated through a progressive damage formulation implemented via a displacement-driven incremental approach. Computational results clearly show that AFG-treated teeth, as a consequence of a more conservative morphological preparation of the tooth, are characterized by more effective crown-dentin loading transfer mechanisms, higher fracture strength levels and more homogeneous stress patterns than the standard-treated ones, thereby opening towards widespread clinical application.