D.F. Taylor

Quantitative wear measurement of posterior composite resins

A quantitative method for measuring the wear of posterior composite restorations has been developed. The system utilizes the comparison of die stone casts of restored teeth to a set of calibrated standards as a means of evaluating the wear on the restorations. The technique facilitates the determination of the actual rate of clinical wear. This method, therefore, can be used to relate quantitatively the performance of one material to another. Further advantages are that materials can be compared without being a part of the same study, and that direct comparisons can be made of a single restoration at two or more ages.

Five-year study of two lightcured posterior composite resins

Abstract Two visible light-cured composite resins, Ful-Fil and X-55, were used to restore 136 Class I and Class II cavity preparations in adult teeth. After 5 years the ratings for color matching, interfacial staining, secondary caries, and marginal adaptation remained good, using USPHS criteria (ranging from 75% to 100% Alfa). The average surface loss due to occlusal wear was 158 and 169 micrometers for Ful-Fil and X-55, respectively. Significant differences in occlusal wear were noted depending on tooth and restoration type. These results indicate that both composite resins meet the current ADA Council on Dental Materials specifications for full acceptance in adult posterior teeth.

Comparison of direct and indirect methods for analyzing wear of posterior composite restorations

The vast majority of recent clinical research involving wear analyses of posterior composite resin restorations have used either the direct evaluation method (USPHS) or the indirect cast comparison (Leinfelder) method. However, there has never been any established correlation of the two wear scales. The objective of this study was to determine the amount of wear for the USPHS alfa-bravo transition on the basis of cast comparison data. Clinical wear data were collected over five years by both the direct method and the indirect method. Three materials were used involving a total of 221 restorations in 61 patients. Each restoration was evaluated at baseline, six months, one, two, three, and five years by each method. Then, for those restorations which underwent a transition from an alfa to a bravo clinical rating, the absolute wear at the transition was determined by averaging the indirect ratings just before and just after the transition. The mean wear corresponding to the alfa-bravo transition was 192 +/- 60 microns. Because of the large width of the alfa category up to the alfa-bravo transition, extensive early changes and high initial wear rates cannot be detected by the USPHS system.

Effects of preparation relief and flow channels on seating full coverage castings during cementation

Machined steel dies were used to study the effects of three die modifications on seating full coverage castings during cementation. The die modifications consisted of occlusal channels, occlusal surface relief, and axial channels. Fourteen specimens having one or more forms of die modification were compared with two control specimens having no die modifications. Statistical analysis of the data revealed that the addition of four axial channels to the simulated preparation on the steel die produced a significant reduction in the mean marginal discrepancy during cementation. Occlusal modifications alone failed to produce significant reductions in marginal discrepancies when compared with the control specimens. Occlusal modifications in conjunction with axial channels failed to produce further significant reductions in marginal discrepancies when compared with those reductions observed in specimens having only axial channels.

Hardening of Dental Gold-Copper Alloys

X-ray diffraction studies of several proprietary dental gold alloys demonstrated that hardening probably is a dual mechanism of precipitation and order-hardening. Lattice parameter measurements showed that the ordered structure was AuCu. In addition, it was shown that maximum hardness occurs at about 75% full order.

Confirmation of Leinfelder clinical wear standards

OBJECTIVES Accuracy of composite wear studies based on Leinfelder standards has been disputed. There are differences with other well-calibrated systems such as the M-L and Vivadent wear standards. The objective of this study was to reevaluate the margin height at key regions along the restoration margins for each of the 6 Leinfelder standards using laser profiling techniques. METHODS The Leinfelder standards were profiled in parallel paths 100 microns apart and measured in x-y-z position every 20 microns along those paths using a laser profilometer. RESULTS Rounding of cavosurface enamel margins from intraoral wear greatly increased the uncertainty of the true enamel margin location and step height measurements, precluding unequivocal measurements for standards #2 and #3. Values for other standards for the original report, newly measured means and standard errors, and measured ranges were: #4 (322 microns, 333 +/- 34 microns, 171-507 microns), #5 (382 microns, 459 +/- 44 microns, 202-649 microns), and #6 (493 microns, 584 +/- 91 microns, 315-1022 microns). There were no statistically significant differences (p < or = 0.10) between these and original values. Large standard errors may have obscured small differences that may exist. The Leinfelder cast conversion scale seems to be the correct relative magnitude. SIGNIFICANCE Differences between Leinfelder casts and other standards may be due to differences in shadow production. Clinical wear may be systematically underestimated by other cast evaluation methods that have well-defined margins. This emphasizes the need for standard casts with margin morphology similar to the clinical casts being evaluated for wear.

Hardening of Gold-Based Alloys

The relationships between composition, heat treatment, hardness and microstructure have been investigated for a number of commercial dental casting alloys and for several series of experimental gold-silver-copper compositions. The results indicate that at least two distinct hardening mechanisms must occur in these alloys.

Three-year clinical evaluation of a self-cured posterior composite resin.

A study was conducted to determine whether the wear resistance of a posterior composite could be improved by maximizing filler particle-to-particle contacts. This was expected to reduce stress concentrations on the resin matrix and thus reduce occlusal wear. A self-curing quartz-filled composite with this design, P-10, was used to restore 90 Class I and II cavity preparations in adult teeth. Restorations were recalled after baseline at six months, one year, two years, and three years to measure wear by direct and indirect evaluation methods. There was no apparent advantage for this material compared with other previously evaluated posterior composites. The average cumulative wear for P-10 after three years was 145 microns. In addition, the restorations were evaluated for color-matching, interfacial staining, secondary caries, marginal adaptation, surface texture, and postoperative sensitivity. This material was not significantly different in those ways from other posterior composite products except in terms of more rapid color change, because it is self-cured.

A determination of the minimum radiopacification necessary for radiographic detection of an aspirated or swallowed object

It was hoped that it might be possible to establish some standard or starting point which could be used by future investigators to judge adequate levels of radiopacity of radiopaque denture-base materials. Aluminum and copper were used to define a suitable radiopacity scale. The scale was represented by two sets of specimens--one of regular outline and uniform thickness, the other of irregular shape and tapering thickness. Radiographs of the chest and abdominal regions of a cadaver were exposed, with the specimens placed on the film side and then on the opposite side of the cadaver. The results showed that it was more difficult to locate the beveled irregular specimens, that there was little difference between the chest and the abdomen with respect to ease of locating the same objects, and that the closer an object is to the film the easier it is to locate. For 95 per cent observability, an object should have a level of radiopacity at least equal to that produced by 0.20 mm. of copper.

Five-year clinical study of u.v.-polymerized posterior composites

Four u.v.-polymerized composites (Estilux, Nuva-Fil, Nuva-Fil P.A. and Uvio-Fil) were clinically evaluated in Class I and II cavity preparations in permanent teeth. The restorations were evaluated at baseline, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years using USPHS criteria for direct evaluation and at 3, 4 and 5 years using the Leinfelder method for indirect evaluation of wear. The wear measured by the USPHS method showed increasing wear rates in earlier reports, apparently due to the limited sensitivity of the scale to early wear. The wear by the Leinfelder method showed gradually decreasing wear rates. There were no statistically significant differences among the wear values for the four u.v.-cured materials or between these materials and the self-cured and visible light-cured controls.