Identification of the periodontal ligament material parameters using response surface method.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Orthodontics
• Computational Mechanics

Background:

• Finite element (FE) simulations are crucial for guiding orthodontic treatment.
• The accuracy of FE simulations depends heavily on the material properties of the periodontal ligament (PDL).

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a method for accurately identifying the material parameters of the PDL.
• To enhance the biomimetic fidelity of FE simulations in orthodontics.

Main Methods:

• Established a Prony series viscoelastic FE model based on PDL relaxation experiments.
• Employed the response surface (RS) method combined with FE inverse analysis to identify optimal PDL material parameters.
• Utilized root mean square error between simulation and experimental results as the objective function.

Main Results:

• Identified optimal PDL material parameters: elastic modulus (3.791 MPa), Poisson's ratio (0.42), and temperature (29.294°C).
• Achieved high consistency between FE simulation results and experimental data, with a correlation coefficient of 0.97258.
• The proposed method significantly improved calculation efficiency and reduced parameter identification errors compared to simple FE inverse methods.

Conclusions:

• The developed parameter identification method accurately determines PDL material properties.
• This approach enhances the reliability of FE simulations for orthodontic treatment planning.
• The method holds significant scientific and theoretical value for computational biomechanics.