Biomechanical Stress Analysis of Mandibular First Permanent Molar; Restored with Amalgam and Composite Resin: A Computerized Finite Element Study

Normal mastication with its varying magnitude and direction generates considerable reactionary stresses in teeth and their supporting tissues. The structure of the human tooth and its supporting tissues is a complex assemblage of materials of varied mechanical properties. The finite element method (FEM), a modern technique of numerical stress analysis, has the great advantage of being applicable to solids of irregular geometry and heterogeneous material properties and therefore ideally suited to the examination of structural behavior of teeth. The mandibular first permanent molar is one of the earliest permanent teeth to erupt in the oral cavity and hence most prone to caries. The purpose of the present study was to construct a two-dimensional FE model of the mandibular first permanent molar and its supporting structures, using a FE software called NISA II-Display III, EMRC, USA to study the following: • To compare stress distributions patterns when a modeled Class I Cavity was restored with dental amalgam and composite resin. • To compare the stress distributions pattern when the load was applied to different to locations, i.e.: At the mesial cusp tip, and at the center of the occlusal surface. Both amalgam and composite resin showed similar stress distribution pattern, however, the magnitudes of stresses generated in the tooth restored with composite resin were higher. Thus, amalgam is a better restorative material in distributing stresses.