Dentoalveolar stress from bodily tooth movement at different levels of bone loss

This study was undertaken to determine the stress that appears in the tooth, the periodontal ligament, and the alveolar bone, when a couple and horizontal forces were applied to obtain the bodily movement of a lower digitalized canine and its changes depending on the degree of loss of the supporting bone. The analysis of tensions was carried out by means of the finite element method (FEM) with no bone loss and after reducing the support bone 2, 4, 6, and 8 mm. False color three-dimensional images indicating intensity of stress (tensile and compressive) and extension are generated. After the application of the forces in the model without bone loss, a rather uniform distribution of stress is observed. When the bone loss is 2 mm, an increased stress in the levels next to the alveolar crest is already apparent. After 4, 6, and 8 mm of bone support reduction, a change of the sign and an increment of the magnitude of stress in the lowest levels occurs.