Osamu Miyakawa

Long‐term changes of hydroxyapatite‐coated dental implants

There are many controversies about the long-term prognosis of hydroxyapatite (HA)-coated implants. Failure may be related to compositional and structural changes of the coating occurring during implantation. Two retrieved and two unused HA-coated blade-type implants were examined by stereomicroscopy, secondary electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electron probe microanalysis. The objective was to investigate the HA morphology, composition, and structure, and to characterize the changes that occurred in the retrieved implant coatings. Retrieved implants presented partial loss of the coating, especially at the apical and mesiodistal edges. Remaining HA was thick and flattened in the cervical and central areas and gradually thinner and rougher towards the apical and mesiodistal edges. Increase of Cl and Mg, decrease of OH, and X-ray diffraction peak broadening were found in the retrieved implant coatings, in comparison with the unused implants. Morphological changes of the retrieved implants seem to depend on stress values in the surrounding bone and on implant mobility. Compositional changes and increased amount of lattice imperfections appeared in the retrieved implant coatings, as a result of ion substitutions in the apatite lattice. However, the present study could not confirm the influence of these changes on implant failure.

Fatigue resistance of cast occlusal rests using Co-Cr and Ag-Pd-Cu-Au alloys

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Fatigue failure in a removable partial denture framework includes fracture of the occlusal rest at the rest-minor connector angle. PURPOSE This in vitro study evaluated the fatigue resistance of 0.8-mm-thick occlusal rests cast with Co-Cr and Ag-Pd-Cu-Au alloys. MATERIAL AND METHODS The specimen consisted of occlusal rest (0.8 x 2.0 x 10 mm), vertical minor connector (0.9 x 2.0 x 5.0 mm), and denture base connector (1.5 x 5.0 x 25 mm). Twenty-five specimens each were cast with Co-Cr and Ag-Pd-Cu-Au alloys. From each group, 5 specimens were subjected to a load-deflection test conducted to determine the amount of deflection to be used in fatigue test. The fatigue test was performed such that the occlusal rest component was deflected by displacing the denture base component in a tissueward direction. Predetermined denture base displacement values of 0.25 and 0.49 mm for Co-Cr and Ag-Pd-Cu-Au specimens, respectively, were repeated at a rate of 500 cycles/min by use of a displacement-controlled fatigue testing machine, until occlusal rest failure occurred or a preset limit of 2 million cycles was achieved. The survival rates of the occlusal rests were calculated assuming a chewing cycle of 2 x 10(5) per year. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) photographs were made to examine the fracture surfaces and to identify casting defects. The relationship between fatigue cycles and number of casting defects was determined by Spearman rank correlation analysis (P<.01). RESULTS All 20 Co-Cr specimens outran the preset limit, whereas 18 Ag-Pd-Cu-Au specimens fractured. After 3 years of simulated clinical use, only 50% of the Ag-Pd-Cu-Au occlusal rests survived. Statistical analysis showed that the fatigue cycles and number of casting defects were inversely related (P<.01). Fatigue crack initiation occurred at the inner-curvature surface of the rest-minor connector angle. The typical Ag-Pd-Cu Au fatigue fracture surface consisted of smooth propagation and dimpled and smooth final fracture areas. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that cast Co-Cr rests are more rigid and fatigue resistant than Ag-Pd-Cu-Au rests. The fatigue resistance of 0.8-mm-thick occlusal rests may be adequate if cast with Co-Cr alloy. An increased number of casting defects may hasten the fatigue failure of occlusal rests.

Retention and failure mode after cyclic loading in two post and core systems.

Retention of a prefabricated post and composite resin core system was compared with that of a cast post and core restoration in anterior maxillary teeth on which root canal preparations, enlarged in the coronal part, were performed. The effect of cyclic loading on restoration retention was also investigated. Retention of restorations not subjected to cyclic loading was not influenced by post type, but loaded prefabricated post restorations showed lower retention than both loaded cast post and core restorations and nonloaded prefabricated post restorations. After dislodgement, the failure mode was also determined. The results of this study suggest that if a canal requires extensive preparation, a well-adapted cast post and core restoration may be more retentive than a prefabricated post restoration that does not match the canal shape.

The Structure of Oxide Formed by High-temperature Oxidation of Commercial Gold Alloys for Porcelain-Metal Bonding

For gold alloys containing only In as a base metal, an external In2O3 layer forms uniformly on the alloy surface. However, when the alloy contains Sn and In, no external oxide layer can be detected by electron probe micro-analysis, and oxide particles composed of In2O3 and SnO2 precipitate in the alloy. For alloys containing Ni, in addition to In and Sn, the external oxide is composed of NiO; there is little development of internal oxide. For alloys containing Fe and Sn, an oxide layer of only Fe2O3 forms on the alloy surface, and the internal oxidation zone shows a band-like structure containing SnO2 and a small amount of Fe2O3.

Effects of Phase Transformations of Silicas and Calcium Sulfates on the Compressive Strength of Gypsum-bonded Investments at High Temperatures

The effects of transformations of silicas and calcium sulfates on high temperature compressive strength were investigated in commercial and experimental investment materials containing fused quartz as silica. The strength is only slightly affected by the α → β transformation of cristobalite and not by the quartz α → β transformation. The state of the calcium sulfates is the main factor influencing variations in the strength at a particular temperature.