Abstract
Tooth displacement due to a bite force was measured using X-ray computed tomography (CT) images and coordinate transformation. Two CT images of the mandibular dentition of an adult male were recorded with and without a bite force. Tooth displacement was evaluated from the two images by matching them at the mandibular bone region using coordinate transformation. The following results were determined under a bite force of approximately 100 N at the first premolar: (i) displacement measurements of a tooth are possible using the present method, (ii) displacement was also observed at teeth without the bite force, (iii) displacement tended to be small in the direction of the tooth axis, but relatively large on the occlusal surface, and (iv) the absolute values of the maximum displacements were less than several hundred micrometers in the direction of the tooth axis and were nearly 1 mm on the occlusal surface.
