Predicting changes in mechanical properties of trabecular bone by adaptive remodeling

Trabecular Bone Component Assessment under Orthodontic Loads and Movements during Periodontal Breakdown-A Finite Elements Analysis

This numerical analysis, by employing Tresca and Von Mises failure criteria, assessed the biomechanical behavior of a trabecular bone component subjected to 0.6, 1.2, and 2.4 N orthodontic forces under five movements (intrusion, extrusion, tipping, rotation, and translation) and during a gradual horizontal periodontal breakdown (0-8 mm). Additionally, they assessed the changes produced by bone loss, and the ischemic and resorptive risks. The analysis employed eighty-one models of nine patients in 405 simulations. Both failure criteria showed similar qualitative results, with Tresca being quantitatively higher by 1.09-1.21. No qualitative differences were seen between the three orthodontic loads. Quantitatively, a doubling (1.2 N) and quadrupling (2.4 N) were visible when compared to 0.6 N. Rotation and translation followed by tipping are the most stressful, especially for a reduced periodontium, prone to higher ischemic and resorptive risks. In an intact periodontium, 1.2 N can be safely applied but only in a reduced periodontium for extrusion and intrusion. More than 0.6 N is prone to increasing ischemic and resorptive risks for the other three movements. In an intact periodontium, stress spreads in the entire trabecular structure. In a reduced periodontium, stress concentrates (after a 4 mm loss-marker for the stress change distribution) and increases around the cervical third of the remaining alveolar socket.

Effects of Increasing the Orthodontic Forces over Cortical and Trabecular Bone during Periodontal Breakdown-A Finite Elements Analysis

Background and Objectives: Herein we used numerical analysis to study different biomechanical behaviors of mandibular bone subjected to 0.6 N, 1.2 N, and 2.4 N orthodontic loads during 0-8 mm periodontal breakdown using the Tresca failure criterion. Additionally, correlations with earlier FEA reports found potential ischemic and resorptive risks. Materials and Methods: Eighty-one models (nine patients) and 243 simulations (intrusion, extrusion, rotation, tipping, and translation) were analyzed. Results: Intrusion and extrusion displayed after 4 mm bone loss showed extended stress display in the apical and middle third alveolar sockets, showing higher ischemic and resorptive risks for 0.6 N. Rotation, translation, and tipping displayed the highest stress amounts, and cervical-third stress with higher ischemic and resorptive risks after 4 mm loss for 0.6 N. Conclusions: Quantitatively, rotation, translation, and tipping are the most stressful movements. All three applied forces produced similar stress-display areas for all movements and bone levels. The stress doubled for 1.2 N and quadrupled for 2.4 N when compared with 0.6 N. The differences between the three loads consisted of the stress amounts displayed in color-coded areas, while their location and extension remained constant. Since the MHP was exceeded, a reduction in the applied force to under 0.6 N (after 4 mm of bone loss) is recommended for reducing ischemic and resorptive risks. The stress-display pattern correlated with horizontal periodontal-breakdown simulations.

Cortical and Trabecular Bone Stress Assessment during Periodontal Breakdown-A Comparative Finite Element Analysis of Multiple Failure Criteria

Background and Objectives: This numerical analysis investigated the biomechanical behavior of the mandibular bone as a structure subjected to 0.5 N of orthodontic force during periodontal breakdown. Additionally, the suitability of the five most used failure criteria (Von Mises (VM), Tresca (T), maximum principal (S1), minimum principal (S3), and hydrostatic pressure (HP)) for the study of bone was assessed, and a single criterion was identified for the study of teeth and the surrounding periodontium (by performing correlations with other FEA studies). Materials and Methods: The finite element analysis (FEA) employed 405 simulations over eighty-one mandibular models with variable levels of bone loss (0-8 mm) and five orthodontic movements (intrusion, extrusion, tipping, rotation, and translation). For the numerical analysis of bone, the ductile failure criteria are suitable (T and VM are adequate for the study of bone), with Tresca being more suited. S1, S3, and HP criteria, due to their distinctive design dedicated to brittle materials and liquids/gas, only occasionally correctly described the bone stress distribution. Results: Only T and VM displayed a coherent and correlated gradual stress increase pattern for all five movements and levels of the periodontal breakdown. The quantitative values provided by T and VM were the highest (for each movement and level of bone loss) among all five criteria. The MHP (maximum physiological hydrostatic pressure) was exceeded in all simulations since the mandibular bone is anatomically less vascularized, and the ischemic risks are reduced. Only T and VM displayed a correlated (both qualitative and quantitative) stress increase for all five movements. Both T and VM displayed rotation and translation, closely followed by tipping, as stressful movements, while intrusion and extrusion were less stressful for the mandibular bone. Conclusions: Based on correlations with earlier numerical studies on the same models and boundary conditions, T seems better suited as a single unitary failure criterion for the study of teeth and the surrounding periodontium.

Mechanoregulated trabecular bone adaptation: Progress report on in silico approaches

Adaptation is the process by which bone responds to changes in loading environment and modulates its properties and spatial organization to meet the mechanical demands. Adaptation in trabecular bone is achieved through increase in bone mass and alignment of trabecular-bone morphology along the loading direction. This transformation of internal microstructure is governed by mechanical stimuli sensed by mechanosensory cells in the bone matrix. Realisation of adaptation in the form of local bone-resorption and -formation activities as a function of mechanical stimuli is still debated. In silico modelling is a useful tool for simulation of various scenarios that cannot be investigated in vivo and particularly well suited for prediction of trabecular bone adaptation. This progress report presents the recent advances in in silico modelling of mechanoregulated adaptation at the scale of trabecular bone tissue. Four well-established bone-adaptation models are reviewed in terms of their recent improvements and validation. They consider various mechanical factors: (i) strain energy density, (ii) strain and damage, (iii) stress nonuniformity and (iv) daily stress. Contradictions of these models are discussed and their ability to describe adequately a real-life mechanoregulation process in bone is compared.

Integration of mechanics and biology in computer simulation of bone remodeling

Bone remodeling is a complex physiological process that spans across multiple spatial and temporal scales and is regulated by both mechanical and hormonal cues. An imbalance between bone resorption and bone formation in the process of bone remodeling may lead to various bone pathologies. One powerful and non-invasive approach to gain new insights into mechano-adaptive bone remodeling is computer modeling and simulation. Recent findings in bone physiology and advances in computer modeling have provided a unique opportunity to study the integration of mechanics and biology in bone remodeling. Our objective in this review is to critically appraise recent advances and developments and discuss future research opportunities in computational bone remodeling approaches that enable integration of mechanics and cellular and molecular pathways. Based on the critical appraisal of the relevant recent published literature, we conclude that multiscale in silico integration of personalized bone mechanics and mechanobiology combined with data science and analytics techniques offer the potential to deepen our knowledge of bone remodeling and provide ample opportunities for future research.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF APPARENT DENSITY EVOLUTION OF TRABECULAR BONE UNDER FATIGUE LOADING: EFFECT OF BONE INITIAL PROPERTIES

Bone remodeling is a physiological phenomenon coupling resorption and formation processes that are mainly mediated by osteoclasts and osteoblasts, in response to mechanical stimuli transduced by osteocytes to biochemical signals activating the bone multicellular unit. Under normal loading conditions, bone resorption and formation are balanced by a homeostasis process. When bone is subjected to overstress, microdamaging occurs, which induces a modification of the structural integrity and microarchitecture. This has drawn significant attention to the mechanical properties of bone. In this context, the current study has been carried out with the aim of numerically investigating the impact of the mechanical properties on the remodeling process of the trabecular bone under cyclic loading, highlighting the effects of different values of the mineral density and the Young’s modulus. This was performed using a mechanobiological model, coupling mechanical and biological approaches, allowing to numerically simulate the effect of the selected parameters for a 20-year-period of cyclic loading for 2D and 3D models of a human femur head. The current work is an explorative numerical study, and the obtained results revealed the changes in the overall stiffness of the bone according to the mechanical properties.