The effect of collagen reinforcement in the behaviour of the temporomandibular joint disc

In this paper, the influence of collagen fibres in the behaviour of the temporomandibular joint disc is studied. A three-dimensional finite element model of the joint is developed from a set of medical images. The model comprises the mandible, part of the cranium and both temporomandibular joints. Joints have been considered to be composed of the articular discs and the temporomandibular ligaments. A fibre-reinforced porohyperelastic model was used to study the response under clenching of the fibrocartilage that composes the articular disc. This was divided in an intermediate zone, and two bands, an anterior and other posterior, in order to define the orientation of collagen fibres. The study demonstrates that the introduction of collagen fibres in the biphasic behaviour of the articular disc implies for a prescribed displacement not only an increase of the pressurization in the tissue, but also higher stresses in the anterior and posterior bands, as well as in the lateral zone of the disc. Thus, modelling the disc as an isotropic solid matrix leads in this case to an overestimation of the stresses in the intermediate zone, an underestimation of the pore pressure in this area, and an underestimation of the stresses in the rest of the disc.