Estimating the location of the center of resistance of canines.
To develop a method to quickly estimate the location of center of resistance (CR) in mesial-distal (MD) and buccal-lingual (BL) directions from the tooth's image. The maxillary cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans of 18 patients were used. Finite element (FE) models of the canines and their surrounding tissues were built based on their CBCT scans to calculate the locations of CR. Root length, centroid of the contact surface (CCS), and centroid of projection of the contact surface (CPCS) were also obtained from the images. The CCS and CPCS locations were projected on the tooth's long axis, which were represented as percentages of the root length measured from the root's apex. Using the FE results as the standards, the errors of using CCS or CPCS to estimate CR were calculated. The average location of CR calculated using the FE method was 60.2% measured from the root's apex in the MD direction and 58.4% in the BL direction. The location of the CCS was 60.9%. The difference in CR was 0.7% in the MD direction and 2.5% in the BL direction. The location of CPCS was 60.2% in the MD direction and 59.1% in the BL direction, which resulted in a 0.1% and 0.8% difference with the reference CR, respectively. The average difference of CR in the MD and BL directions was small but statistically significant (P < .05). The locations of the CR of a human canine in the MD and BL directions can be estimated by finding the CPCSs in those directions.