willceram-porcelain and silicon-carbide

This study evaluated the wear area of human enamel opposing 2 conventional and 2 low-fusing dental porcelains, as well as abrasive wear, attrition, surface hardness, and fracture toughness for the 4 porcelain substrates.. Two low-fusing and 2 conventional metal-ceramic porcelains were used to form 15-mm-diameter disks (n = 10), which were fired according to manufacturer's recommendations. Enamel cusps (n = 40) were formed from extracted third molars. All ceramic and enamel specimens were finished to a 1000-grit silicon carbide surface. The Oregon Health Sciences University (Portland, OR) oral wear simulator was used to deliver a 20-N load from the cusps to the ceramic substrates through a food-like slurry. The sliding action of the cusps over an 8-mm linear path produced abrasive wear. A static 70-N load was applied at the end of the path to create attrition. This sequence was repeated at 1.0 Hz for 50,000 cycles. Ceramic wear was measured with a profilometer (+/-2 micrometers), and enamel wear was evaluated using optical scanning methods. After wear testing, the hardness and fracture toughness of the ceramic surfaces were determined, and scanning electron photomicrographs were made using representative ceramic and enamel specimens from each group. Enamel wear areas, abrasion and attrition depths, hardness, and fracture toughness values were subjected to analysis of variance and Tukey-Kramer post hoc tests to determine significant differences.. Enamel wear was not significantly different for low-fusing and conventional porcelains (p =.29). The wear of conventional and low-fusing ceramic substrates was also not significantly different (p =.79). However, depth of porcelain wear caused by attrition was in general significantly greater than abrasive wear (p =.0004). Although no significant differences were found in the measured porcelain hardness values (p =.08), 1 conventional porcelain exhibited fracture toughness significantly greater than 1 low-fusing porcelain (p <.01).. No differences in wear patterns were noted among low-fusing compared with conventional metal-ceramic porcelains, but static loading resulted in significantly greater attrition compared with the observed sliding abrasive wear. J Prosthodont 2001;10:8-15.

Topics: Analysis of Variance; Biocompatible Materials; Bite Force; Carbon Compounds, Inorganic; Ceramics; Composite Resins; Dental Enamel; Dental Polishing; Dental Porcelain; Dental Restoration Wear; Dental Restoration, Permanent; Hardness; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Lithium Compounds; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Silicon Compounds; Statistics as Topic; Stress, Mechanical; Surface Properties; Tooth Abrasion; Tooth Attrition

Dental porcelains rely on the high-thermal-expansion mineral leucite to elevate their bulk thermal expansion to levels compatible with dental PFM alloys. The microcracks that form around these leucite particles when cooled during porcelain manufacture are a potential source of change in bulk porcelain thermal expansion during fabrication of porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns and bridges. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether multiple firings of commercial dental porcelains could produce changes in microcrack density. Specimens of six commercial porcelains and the "Component No. 1" of the Weinstein patent were fabricated and subjected to 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 firings. The microcrack densities were determined by quantitative stereology, whereby intersections of microcracks were counted with a test grid. The microcrack data were subjected to linear regression analysis and analysis of variance. The microcrack densities of four of the six porcelains and the Component No. 1 frit were not significantly affected by the number of firings (p > 0.05). One porcelain exhibited a weak but highly significant positive correlation between microcrack density and multiple firings (r2 = 0.24, p = 0.0003), while the remaining porcelain exhibited a weak but statistically significant negative correlation between microcrack density and multiple firings (r2 = 0.15, p = 0.006). The results of this study indicate that even for porcelains that exhibit a measurable change in microcrack density as a function of multiple firings, the magnitude of the increase or decrease in microcrack density after several firings is sufficiently small to cause only negligible shifts in porcelain bulk thermal expansion.

Topics: Aluminum Silicates; Analysis of Variance; Carbon; Carbon Compounds, Inorganic; Chemical Phenomena; Chemistry, Physical; Cyanates; Cyanoacrylates; Dental Alloys; Dental Porcelain; Dental Restoration Failure; Dental Stress Analysis; Differential Thermal Analysis; Elasticity; Hot Temperature; Linear Models; Materials Testing; Metal Ceramic Alloys; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Models, Chemical; Silicon Compounds; Surface Properties; Thermodynamics