title: Biomechanics of oral mucosa.
abstract: The prevalence of prosthodontic treatment has been well recognized, and the need is continuously increasing with the ageing population. While the oral mucosa plays a critical role in the treatment outcome, the associated biomechanics is not yet fully understood. Using the literature available, this paper provides a critical review on four aspects of mucosal biomechanics, including static, dynamic, volumetric and interactive responses, which are interpreted by its elasticity, viscosity/permeability, apparent Poisson's ratio and friction coefficient, respectively. Both empirical studies and numerical models are analysed and compared to gain anatomical and physiological insights. Furthermore, the clinical applications of such biomechanical knowledge on the mucosa are explored to address some critical concerns, including stimuli for tissue remodelling (interstitial hydrostatic pressure), pressure-pain thresholds, tissue displaceability and residual bone resorption. Through this review, the state of the art in mucosal biomechanics and their clinical implications are discussed for future research interests, including clinical applications, computational modelling, design optimization and prosthetic fabrication.
authors.affiliation: School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Junning
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Unit of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam 40450, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Rohana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.affiliation: School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Swain
authors.affiliation: School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia qing.li@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004548:Elasticity; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: hydrostatic pressure; hyperelastic; oral mucosa; pressure–pain threshold; residual ridge resorption; viscoelastic