%0 Journal Article
%T Periodontal biomechanics: finite element simulations of closing stroke and power stroke in equine cheek teeth
%A Vanessa Cordes
%A Matthias L¨¹pke
%A Moritz Gardemin
%A Hermann Seifert
%A Carsten Staszyk
%J BMC Veterinary Research
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1746-6148-8-60
%X Results showed a uniform distribution of low stresses and strain energy density (SED) during closing stroke, whereas during power stroke an occurrence of high stresses and SED could be observed in the PDL near the alveolar crest and in periapical regions.The concentration of forces during power stroke in these specific areas of the PDL may cause local tissue necrosis and inflammation and thus establish a suitable environment for the settlement of microorganisms.Dentition plays a very important role in equine digestion. Horses do not have a forestomach system like ruminants, which enables a microbiological breakdown of plant cell walls before reaching the resorptive small intestine [1]. Thus, cheek teeth are the only tools for releasing nutritive cell contents by grinding the herbivore diet [1]. An effective disruption of forage is therefore necessary for a sufficient energy supply [2].One of the main problems in equine oral health are painful periodontal diseases [3-5], hampering normal masticatory action [6]. Especially in geriatric horses the occurrence of periodontal disorders is exceptionally high with described prevalence of about 60% [6].Periodontal diseases can be subdivided into those proceeding from the gingival sulcus into the periodontal space and those occurring exclusively in the periapical region.Recent studies have shown that periapical infections can be caused either by periodontal spread, infundibular caries or occlusal fissure fractures [7-9]. Nonetheless, remarkably the aetiology of most cases of the periapical infection (68%) remained unexplained [7]. For these cases anachoresis is suggested to be causative [7-9]. Anachoretic infections depend on a suitable environment for microbiological settlement in terms of necrotic tissue areas [10].We propose that excessive strains and stresses occurring in the periodontal ligament (PDL) during the horse¡¯s chewing cycle could cause pathological tissue changes and thus be a predisposing factor for equine per
%K Finite element analysis
%K Horse
%K Periodontal ligament
%K Tooth
%K Chewing cycle
%K Periodontal disease
%K Periapical infection
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1746-6148/8/60