Comparación biomecánica entre los sistemas convencionales y uni-lock en osteosíntesis del ángulo mandibular: Estudio fotoelástico

introduction: the biomechanical effects of the interaction between titanium plates and screws and the fractured mandible are not well known. the mathematical models that have been developed to date show limitations and the experimental studies fail in reproducing muscle forces and internal stress distributions in the bone-implant interface with the mandibular structure. material and methods: in the present study we use a static simulator of the masticatory system to show, in epoxy resin mandibular models, by means of 3d (three-dimensional) photoelasticity, the stress distribution using different osteosynthesis methods in mandibular body fractures. results: the results showed that the simulator and 3d photoelasticity were useful for studying interactions between bone and osteosynthesis materials. the "lock" system displayed the most favourable stress distribution in the epoxy resin mandible. conclusions: 3d photoelasticity in epoxy resin models is a useful method to evaluate stress distribution for biomechanical studies. in terms of mandibular osteosynthesis, "lock" plates show the most favourable stress distribution due to being less aggressive to the bone.