TRIBOLOGICAL TESTS OF THE NANOMATERIALS USED TO RECONSTRUCT MOLARS AND PREMOLARS WITH THE APPLICATION OF THE DIRECT METHOD

Abstract

Physiological abrasion of teeth is a process of gradual loss of the hard tissue of opposite teeth resulting from age-related natural dental wear. In abrasion, the cusps and their slopes in the jaw and the mandible become flattened due to the mechanical load applied. The aim of this paper is to carry out a tribological and microstructural evaluation of modern composite materials used to reconstruct the teeth in the lateral part of the dental arch. Five light-cured composite materials were selected for tests. The tests involved the coefficient of friction and resistance to wear in a sliding contact in the presence of artificial saliva and the microstructure of the external surface of samples before the wear process and in the wear-related damaged area. The test method applied, which combines a biomechanical analysis of resistance to wear and the analysis of the microstructure before the wear process and in the wear-related damaged area, makes it possible to evaluate the tribological properties of composite materials used to reconstruct teeth in the lateral part of the dental arch.