The influence of modified cavity design and finishing techniques on the clinical performance of amalgam restorations: a 2-year clinical study

Cambios microscópicos in vitro de cuerpos de prueba de amalgama de plata sometidos a altas temperaturas observados mediante microscopía electrónica de barrido

Objetivo: describir los cambios microscópicos in vitro de 27 cuerpos de prueba elaborados en amalgama de plata de tres marcas comerciales (Contour® Kerr®, Admix® SDI® y Nu Alloy® Newstethic®) sometidos a altas temperaturas (200ºC, 400ºC y 600ºC) observados mediante microscopia electrónica de barrido. Materiales y métodos: estudio observacional descriptivo, de corte transversal y de naturaleza pseudo-experimental que analizó el comportamiento in vitro de 27 cuerpos de prueba elaborados en tres marcas comerciales de amalgama de plata (Contour® Kerr®, Admix® SDI® y Nu Alloy® Newstethic®) sometidos a altas temperaturas (200ºC, 400ºC, 600ºC). Resultados: las tres marcas comerciales de amalgama de plata empleadas en este estudio tuvieron un comportamiento similar, excepto en el comportamiento de los nódulos de plata. Estos aparecieron a los 200ºC en Admix® SDI® y a los 400ºC en Contour® Kerr® y Nu Alloy® Newstethic®. El análisis en microscopía electrónica de barrido y espectrofotometría de la superficie de los cuerpos de prueba evidenció el aumento estadísticamente significativo (p<0,05) del porcentaje de peso atómico de Hg, Cu y Sn. Conclusiones: los cuerpos de prueba de las tres marcas comerciales de amalgama de plata sufren cambios en su microestructura en la medida que aumenta la temperatura. La formación de los nódulos de Ag fue explicada como una consecuencia del comportamiento de la fase gamma 1 de Ag-Hg al aumentar la temperatura, la cual empieza a disociarse a los 200ºC en Admix® SDI® y a los 400ºC en Contour® Kerr® y Nu Alloy® Newstethic®.

In Vitro Description of Macroscopic Changes of Dental Amalgam Discs Subject to High Temperatures to Forensic Purposes

OBJECTIVE

To describe the behavior of 45 discs of dental amalgam of known dimension prepared from three commercially available brands of dental amalgam (Contour® Kerr®-USA, Admix® SDI®-Australia and Nu Alloy® Newstethic®-Colombia) when subjected to the action of high temperatures (200 °C, 400 °C, 600 °C, 800 °C, 1000 °C). It was hoped to establish parameters that could be used for human dental identification in cases of charred, burned or incinerated human remains.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A pseudo-experimental descriptive in-vitro study was designed to describe the macroscopic physical changes to the surface of 45 discs of pre-prepared amalgam of three commercially available brands exposed to a range of high temperatures.

RESULTS

Characteristic and repetitive physical changes were a noticeable feature of the discs of amalgam of each brand of amalgam subjected to the different temperature ranges. These physical changes included changes in dimensional stability, changes in texture, changes in colour, changes in the appearance of fissures and cracks and changes in the fracture and fragmentation of the sample.

CONCLUSIONS

The characteristics of dental amalgam may be of assistance in cases of human identification where charred, burned or incinerated human remains are a feature and where fingerprints or other soft tissue features are unavailable.

A self-designed instrument to evaluate cavosurface angle for class I amalgam cavity preparation: A learning aid

Fighting the controversies, amalgam, as a posterior restorative material has survived till date. The fate of amalgam restoration is determined by geometry of the cavity preparation and cavosurface angle is one integral part of the cavity, which decides the marginal characteristics of the restoration and health of the tooth. Low edge strength of amalgam highlights the importance of cavosurface angle. However, at the same time conservation of the tooth also should be considered. This article presents a self-designed instrument to evaluate and obtain a cavosurface angle close to 110°. The design of the instrument also helps in evaluating parameters, such as depth of the cavity, undercut angle, and allows finishing of the buccal or lingual walls.

A two-stage shape optimization process for cavity preparation

OBJECTIVES

Clinical data indicate that previously restored teeth are more likely to fracture under occlusal loads. The reason for this is attributed to the high stresses at the tooth-restoration interface, especially following debonding of the restoration from the tooth. This work aims to minimise these interfacial stresses by optimizing the cavity shape using modern shape optimisation techniques.

METHODS

Shape optimisation methods based on the principle of biological adaptive growth were incorporated into a finite element program and used to optimize the design of cavity preparations as previous work had successfully used one such method to minimise stresses at the internal line angles of conventional restorations with defective bonds. The overall shapes of the cavity preparations were maintained while the profiles of the internal line angles were modified. In the present study, the overall shape of the cavity preparation was also subject to modification in the optimization process. A topological optimization method which placed the restorative material according to the stress distribution was first used to obtain a draft design for the cavity shape, assuming perfect bonding at the tooth-restoration interface. The draft shape was then refined using the method employed in the previous study, to allow for deterioration in the interfacial bond strength. These optimization methods were incorporated into the commercial finite element package ABAQUS as a User Material Subroutine (UMAT) to automate the optimization process.

RESULTS

Compared with the conventional design, the stress level at the tooth-restoration interface in the optimized design was reduced significantly, irrespective of the bonding condition.

CONCLUSIONS

Finite-element based shape optimization methods provide a useful tool for minimizing the interfacial stresses in dental restorations. The longevity of restored teeth using the optimized designs is therefore expected to be prolonged.