Teeth mobility measurement: a laser vibrometry approach.

OBJECTIVE

This work presents a new technique based on the assessment of the mobility degree through the application of dynamic loads and the measurement of the tooth displacement with a laser Doppler vibrometer.

SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA

Measurements of the mobility degree have been made, up to now, by the application of static loads and the measurement of the consequent displacement. The results obtained with the measurement technique proposed by Muhlemann (1967) have been validated by O'Leary et al. (1964) and by Persson and Sweson (1980). This approach, however, has not been clinically disseminated both because of the high cost of the equipment and, above all, because of the difficulty in performing the measurements.

METHODS

The ratio between the maximum of the tooth displacement and the input force peak has been considered as the mobility degree index. Dynamic loads have been applied and measured on teeth, with a small hammer and a load cell. The consequent displacement of tooth has been measured with a Laser Doppler vibrometer that allows easy to use and versatile noncontact measurements with high accuracy and sensitivity (< 0.1 mm/sec).

RESULTS

An introductory in vitro study has been carried out on real teeth extracted and mounted on structures with different-stiffness silicone cast (stiffness of the support is one of the parameters responsible for teeth mobility), in order to evaluate the technique. An in vivo study has also been carried out on different teeth of a healthy patient. It is possible to observe the agreement between the O'Leary results and ones obtained in this work. The practicality of the procedure has also been demonstrated.

CONCLUSIONS

Good correspondence between data available in literature and results obtained has been demonstrated. The use of the technique here proposed could allow having a deeper knowledge of the behavior of the periodontal teeth system: the tooth mobility under dynamic loads. With this new technique, it will be possible to quickly measure a pathological mobility of the tooth, before it becomes evident and problematic.