The application of an external electric field has been shown to enhance the impregnation of resin monomers used in restorative dentistry. Further to experimental investigations that have related the migration of monomers to their electrical properties, additional insight into the conduction mechanism within the tooth can be gained by numerical modelling of the current conduction through the tooth. This paper presents the development of a three-dimensional realistic voxel model of a human tooth from a data set of digital images and the computation of the currents in the dental tissues by means of a low-frequency numerical code (scalar potential finite difference). Results for the electric potential and current density magnitude in various cross sections of the tooth model are presented for an applied 10 V dc voltage between the electrodes.
2. Breschi, M., D. Fabiani, L. Sandrolini, M. Colonna, L. Sisti, M. Vannini, A. Mazzoni, A. Ruggeri, D. H. Pashley, and L. Breschi, "Electrical properties of resin monomers used in restorative dentistry," Dental Materials, Vol. 28, No. 9, 1024-1031, 2012.
doi:10.1016/j.dental.2012.05.009
3. Krizaj, D., J. Jan, and V. Valencic, "Modeling ac current conduction through a human tooth," Bioelectromagnetics, Vol. 25, No. 3, 185-195, 2004.
doi:10.1002/bem.10189
4. Dawson, T. W., J. De Moerloose, and M. A. Stuchly, "Comparison of magnetically induced elf fields in humans computed by FDTD and scalar potential FD codes," Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society Journal, Vol. 11, No. 3, 63-71, 1996.
5. Dawson, T. W. and M. A. Stuchly, "Analytic validation of a three-dimensional scalar-potential finite-difference code for low-frequency magnetic induction," Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society Journal, Vol. 11, No. 3, 72-81, 1996.
6. Dimbylow, P. J., "Induced current densities from low-frequency magnetic fields in a 2mm resolution, anatomically realistic model of the body," Phys. Med. Biol., Vol. 43, 221-230, 1998.
doi:10.1088/0031-9155/43/2/001
7. Dawson, T. W. and M. A. Stuchly, "High-resolution organ dosimetry for human exposure to low-frequency magnetic fields," IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. 34, No. 3, 708-718, 1998.
doi:10.1109/20.668071
8. Barchanski, A., M. Clemens, H. De Gersem, and T. Weiland, "Efficient calculation of current densities in the human body induced by arbitrarily shaped, low-frequency magnetic field sources," J. Comput. Phys., Vol. 214, 81-95, May 2006.
doi:10.1016/j.jcp.2005.09.009
9. Van Bladel, J. and Electromagnetic Fields, , McGraw-Hill, Inc., USA, 1964.
10. Dawson, T., M. Stuchly, K. Caputa, A. Sastre, R. Shepard, and R. Kavet, "Pacemaker interference and low-frequency electric induction in humans by external fields and electrodes," IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Vol. 47, No. 9, 1211-1218, 2000.
doi:10.1109/10.867951
11. Dawson, T., K. Caputa, M. Stuchly, and R. Kavet, "Electric fields in the human body resulting from 60-Hz contact currents," IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Vol. 48, No. 9, 1020-1026, 2000.
doi:10.1109/10.942592
12. Dawson, T. W., K. Caputa, M. A. Stuchly, and R. Kavet, "Pacemaker interference by 60-Hz contact currents," IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Vol. 49, No. 8, 878-886, 2002.
doi:10.1109/TBME.2002.800771
13. Rao, A. K., K. Montgomery, W. P. Brown, and E. Herbranson, "3-D interactive atlas of human tooth anatomy," CARS, H. U. Lemke, M. W. Vannier, K. Inamura, A. G. Farman, K. Doi, J. H. C. Reiber (eds.), 93-98, Elsevier, 2003.
Submit
