Dental Ceramics Flashcards
What is Kaolin?
Hydrated aluminium silicate
An opaque clay found in dental ceramics
What is found in dental ceramics?
Kaolin <5%
Quartz (silica) 12-25%
Feldspar 70-80%
Metal oxides 1%
Glass up to 15%
What does feldspar do?
Acts as a flux, lowering the temp of other glasses in the mixture, allowing fusing of the glasses
How are dental ceramics made?
Powder is made by heating constituents to >1000ºC then rapidly cooling
A binder (often starch) is added and the powder is mixed with distilled water and built up into the restoration
How does the powder form a crown?
Felspathic ceramics form leucine when heated
This forms around the glass phase of the ceramic
Gives the powder physical and thermal properties
The powder melts together to form the crown
How are crowns formed?
Ceramic powder is mixed with water and applied to the die with a brush
The crown is built up using different porcelains for dentine and enamel
The crown is heated in a furnace to coalesce the powder into ceramic
What is sintering?
When the ceramic particles begin to fuse into a single mass
The glass phase softens and will coalesce
Over time a solid ceramic mass if formed
Material contracts by about 20%
Heating leads to sintering
What are the aesthetic properties of ceramics?
Best aesthetic properties of any restorative material
Colour stable
Very smooth surface
Retain surface well
Optical properties - reflectance, translucency, opacity, transparency, opalescence
Describe the chemical stability of ceramics
Chemically very stable
Generally unaffected by the wide pH range found in the mouth
Do not stain from food/drink
Good biocompatibility
Describe the thermal properties of ceramics
Similar to tooth substance
Coefficient of thermal expansion similar to dentine
Thermal diffusivity is low - protective of the remaining tooth
Describe the dimensional stability of ceramics?
Once fully fired the material is very stable
During fabrication shrinkage is a problem and 20% is normal for a feldspathic ceramic crown
Describe the mechanical properties of ceramics
High compressive strength, hardness
Low tensile strength, flexural strength, fracture toughness - all lead to failure during loading
Static fatigue
Surface micro-cracks
Slow crack-growth
Where can feldspathic crowns be used?
Only anterior crowns
Too brittle for use anywhere else
Why are alumina core crowns used?
Alumina particles act as crack stoppers preventing cracks propagating through the material and causing fracture
What are the advantages of alumina core crowns?
High fracture toughness
Relatively cheap to make
No specialist equipment required
Less labial reduction required