An In Vitro Study of High-Strength Resin Posterior Denture Tooth Wear

This in vitro study evaluated the wear resistance of a high-strength resin posterior denture tooth against eight opposing dental materials. The tooth specimen was cusp shaped and the opposing materials were formed as a 10 X 10 X 5 mm plate. All material combinations were tested using a machine desinged to produce sliding contact 20 x 10 to the fourth power times at 60 cycles per minute and a 4-mm sliding distance per stroke in the buccolingual direction under a load of 1 kg. Wear analysis was meaured as the total height loss of each material combination and the volume loss of each material. Wear against human enamel was evaluated as a control. The least loss was observed opposing a gold-silver-palladium-copper alloy, and the greatest loss was observed opposing porcelain. The volume loss of high-strength resin against gold-silver-palladium-copper alloy was as small as that against human enamel. High-strength resin wear was more signif icant against castable ceramics and porcelain. Teh volume losses of high-strength resin against high-strength resin, polycarbonate, or cobalt-chromium alloy were significantly larger than those against polyethersulfone, poly(methyl methacrylate), gold-silver-palladium-copper alloy, or human enamel. These findings suggest that tyhe wear resistance of high-strength resin is influenced considerably by opposing dental materials, and that the best combination was high-strength resin-gold-silver-palladium-copper alloy, and the poorest combination was high-strength resin-porcelain.