Drugs are readily tested against a placebo or another drug with a double-blind randomized clinical trial (RCT). Comparative testing of mechanical devices and procedures is more complex and open to bias because the test groups are obvious to both the subjects and the investigators. Few if any orthodontic procedures are firmly established with RCTs. Innovative clinical research with human subjects is increasingly challenging because of bias, realistic informed consent, and ethical approval. Substantial advances in orthodontic biomechanics will increasingly require theoretical models that realistically simulate human treatment. Iterations of static and dynamic finite element analysis (FEA) are emerging as excellent preclinical tools to realistically test innovative devices, materials, anchorage and applied mechanics.
Learning Objectives:
After this lecture, attendees will be able to:
Demonstrate the inherent limitations for testing innovative biomechanics on human subjects.
Recognize that determinate mechanics can be realistically modeled in 3D by assessing stress distributions in the human periodontium and jaws based on the mechanical properties of each tissue in the composite.
Propose the simulated testing of innovative materials and clinical procedures on a specific human for whom adequate 3D imaging, such as a cone beam computed tomogram (CBCT), is available.
