Modelling of cancellous bone tissue adaptation in ramus of the human mandible

The structure of the cancellous bone tissue in different parts of the skeleton is not the same and tends to become optimal for bone-affecting load, remodelling itself through the mechanisms of bone formation and resorption. Jaw is the one of the most liable bone to change its structure. In addition to the normal changes associated with the replacement of primary teeth by permanent ones, we often have to deal with pathological changes in the internal architecture of the bone caused by underloading of certain areas of bone tissue due to tooth loss, jaw injuries, and malocclusion. Among the pathologies of the dentoalveolar system, for example, Popov - Godon phenomenon takes place, expressed in abnormal dental shifts, provoked by the antagonists loss or adjacent tooth and accompanied by adaptation of surrounding bone tissues. Assuming that the mechanical load is the factor that leads to the adaptation process in the bone, the paper considers a numerical algorithm that simulates the reconstruction of the cancellous bone at the mesolevel through rate equations including the deviator of the fabric tensor. The results are given for the geometry of the lower jaw, for simplicity consisting entirely of cancellous bone tissue and loaded with efforts from the chewing muscles and the reaction of the temporomandibular joint. As a critical load, single force is applied to the molar of the lower jaw. The purpose of the numerical analysis is to obtain a pattern of stress intensity distribution and porosity in ramus of the mandible at each discrete stage of evolution under load and compare the results with previously published data of other authors.