In the context of optimizing dental care for patients who are elderly, the purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the surface gloss (with a micro-area gloss meter) of, surface roughness (with a compact surface roughness measuring instrument) of, and color change (with a dental colorimeter) in two commercially available injectable resin-based composites (Estelite Universal Flow (EUF) and Beautifil Flow Plus F00 (BFP)) as well as two glass-ionomer cements (GC Fuji II LC CAPSULE (FLC) and GC Fuji IX GP EXTRA CAPSULE (FGP)), before and after dental prophylaxis. After 24 h, the surfaces of each specimen were polished at 2500 rpm with a prophy brush (Mersage Brush, Shofu) and one-step prophylaxis paste (Prophy Paste Pro, Directa): under 100 or 300 gf load, and for 10 or 30 s, 4× cycles of cleaning. After mechanical cleaning, conditions were found for a significant reduction in the gloss level (EUF, BFP, or FLC; < 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to investigate the effect of repeated casting and heat treatment on the corrosion resistance of a commercial Ag-Pd-Cu-Au alloy as evaluated by electrochemical techniques. After repeated casting, the fifth cast of the Ag-Pd-Cu-Au alloy exhibited dramatic degradation of properties, although upon heat treatment, this corrosion resistance did improve. Despite the improvement by heat treatment, after five castings, this alloy may not have satisfactory hardness for clinical use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis review describes individual studies of removable dental prostheses, evaluated their performance and clinical applicability for the proposal to expand health insurance coverage of titanium and its alloys to removable dental prostheses. Titanium and its alloys have become clinically applicable as prosthetic materials by improving dental casting systems. They have high biosafety and good mechanical properties, are excellent substitutes for the silver-palladium-gold alloys for casting, and are highly useful for removable dental prostheses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to investigate which were the most important factors in determining the location of the main occluding area by comparing its site on the dental arch between patients treated with implant-supported prostheses and those with a shortened dental arch (SDA). Twenty-five patients with Eichner B1 occlusion were enrolled in the study. The molar region in each quadrant was always edentulous.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiofilm formation in dental unit water systems (DUWSs) can contaminate water from three-in-one syringes, air rotors, and low-speed handpieces. This may serve as a potential source of infection for dentists, dental staff, and patients, so these systems must be sterilized. Because slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) is often used as a disinfectant for food, the aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of using SAEW as a DUWS disinfectant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStatement Of Problem: Dental casting accuracy is influenced by the setting expansion of investment materials. Although setting expansion can help compensate for casting shrinkage, it cannot be fully realized under a confined wax pattern. Exactly how soft a wax pattern should be to ensure optimum setting expansion has not been determined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF