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Abstract: Visual Simulation of the Chewing Process for Dentistry
Karol Myszkowski, Galina Okuneva, Jens Herder, Tosiyasu L. Kunii, and
Masumi Ibusuki. Visual Simulation of the Chewing Process for
Dentistry, in Visualization & Modelling, pp. 419-438,
Academic Press, ISBN 0-12-227738-4, 1997.
CAD/CAM techniques are increasingly used in dentistry for the
design and fabrication of teeth restorations. Important concerns are
the correction of articulation problems that existed before
treatment and the prevention of treatment-generated problems. These
require interactive evaluation of the occlusal surfaces of teeth
during mastication. Traditional techniques based on the use of
casts with mechanical articulators require manual adjustment of
occlusal surfaces, which becomes impractical when hard restoration
materials like porcelain are used; they are also time and labor
consuming and provide little visual information.
We present new visual tools and a related user interface for global
articulation simulation, developed for the Intelligent Dental Care
System project. The aim of the simulation is visual representation
of characteristics relevant to the chewing process. The simulation
is based on the construction of distance maps, which are visual
representations of the distributions of the distances of points in a
tooth to the opposite jaw. We use rasterizing graphics hardware for
fast calculation of the distance maps. Distance maps are used for
collision detection and for the derivation of various
characteristics showing the distribution of load on the teeth and
the chewing capability of the teeth. Such characteristics can be
calculated for particular positions of the jaws; cumulative
characteristics are used to describe the properties of jaw movement.
This information may be used for interactive design of the occlusal
surfaces of restorations and for jaw articulation diagnosis. We also
demonstrate elements of a user interface that exploit metaphors
familiar to dentists from everyday practice.
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