PROPERTIES OF DENTAL MATERIALS

The science of dental materials involves a study of the composition and properties of materials and the way in which they
interact with the environment they are placed in.
Selection of dental materials
1. Analysis of the problem,
2. Requirements for material to perform optimally,
3. Available materials
4. Selection of material
Evaluation of materials
1. Standard specifications
2. Laboratory evaluations
3. Clinical trials
Classifications of dental materials
1. Preventive
2. Restorative
3. Auxiliary (used in labs)
Ideal properties of dental materials
1. Biocompatibility
2. Bond permanently on tooth structures
3. Match natural appearance of tooth
4. Exhibit properties similar to dentine or enamel
5. Be capable of tissue repair
Material properties:
1. During storage (unmixed materials),
Shelf life: time up to which material can be kept without deterioration. 
2. During Mixing
To achieve a homogenous distribution of properties. Ease of mixing depends of
 Chemical affinity
 Viscosity (The ability of a material to resist flow) 
 Ambient temperature
 Method of dispensation (powder + liq or two pastes or paste + liq)
 Method of mixing.
Mixing time: The time required to achieve a thorough, homogenous, workable mix.
Working time: The time available for mixing and manipulating a material.
Rate of set: Setting per unit time.
3. During setting
Setting time: Time taken for a material to have reached a certain level of rigidity or elasticity.
4. Set material
Should have an acceptable appearance and sufficient durability.
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
The physical sciences that deals with energy and forces and their effects on body. 
Stress
When an external force is applied to a body, an internal force equal and opposite in direction is set up in the body (Force per
unit area).
Tensile Stress: A load that tends to stretch or elongate a body. 
Shear Stress: The sliding or twisting of one portion of a body over another. 
Compressive Stress: If a body is placed under a load that tends to compress. 
Compound Stress: When more than one stress is applied to a body.
Strain
When an applied force causes deformation (Change in length per unit length).
Elastic Strain: deformation that is recovered upon removal of an externally applied force. 
Plastic Strain: deformation that is not recoverable when the externally applied force is removed. 
Strength
The maximum stress a material can withstand without undergoing change in dimension (ability to withstand stress). 
Compressive strength
Fractural strength
Shear strength
Tensile strength
Elastic and Plastic deformation
Elasticity: Is the property of a material to return to its original position after removal of applied force.
Viscoelasticity: When the recovery takes place slowly, or a degree of permanent deformation remains.
Elastic Limit: It is the maximum amount of stress that a structure can withstand and can still return to its pre-stressed
dimensions.
Proportional Limit: Maximum stress at which stress is proportional to strain and above which plastic deformation occurs.
Resilience: The energy absorbed by a material in undergoing elastic deformation up to the elastic limit. 
Modulus of elasticity: Measure of the relative stiffness or rigidity of material (stress/strain). 
Plastic Deformation: The stress at which an object will change it’s dimensions, that is, it wont return to it’s original form.
Percent Elongation: The maximum amount of plastic strain an object can sustain before it fractures.
Hardness: Resistance to penetration when indented by a hard substance.
Toughness: Total energy absorbed by a material up to the point of fracture.
Brittleness: Opposite of toughness, a material capable of absorbing little amount of energy.
Ductility: Ability of a mental to plastically deform (stretched or bent) without breaking or fracturing.
Malleability: Ability of a metal to be hammered into thin sheet without undergoing fracture.
Fatigue: Total number of cycles of force application a material can withstand without undergoing fracture.
Yield Strength: The stress which a test specimen exhibits a specific amount of plastic strain.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
 Abrasion: Process of wearing down or rubbing away by means of friction. 
 Viscosity: The ability of a material to resist flow.
 Creep: Slow deformation under a constant flow, the time dependent plastic strain of material under
constant stress or static load.
 Colour: 
Hue - Principal colour,
Chroma - Intensity of colour,
Value - Brightness or darkness of the colour.
 Flow.
THERMAL PROPERTIES
 Thermal Conductivity: The rate of heat flow per unit temperature gradient. Good conductors have a high
value of thermal conductivity.
 Thermal Diffusivity: The rate of heat flow per unit time, that is, the rapidity at which heat is transferred
through a material.
 Coefficient of Thermal Expansion:  The fractional increase in length of a body for each degree centigrade
increase in temperature. 
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
 Solubility: Is the measurement of the extent to which it will dissolve in a given solvent. 
 Erosion: Is a combination of dissolution with a mild mechanical action.
 Corrosion: Process of deterioration of metal by reaction with its environment. 
 Tarnish: Loss of surface smoothness by the formation of a chemical film, e.g. oxide and sulfide.
 Leaching: A material may absorb water from saliva and loss some of its constituents in saliva by a
diffusion process.
BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
 Non-toxic,
 Non-irritant,
 Non-carcinogenic,
 Non-allergen.
Adhesion: Interaction between two materials at an interface where they are in contact, materials which are capable of
bonding two surfaces together are called adhesive.
Moisture and Acid levels: Intraoral pH depends on diet and acid producing bacteria, ranging from 4 to 8.5, normal
temperature of oral cavity can extend from 0 to 70 degree Celsius. 
Galvanism: An electric current transmitted between two dissimilar metals present in a solution that contains ions.
Retention: The ability of the material to maintain its position and resist displacement. 
Micro-leakage: The seepage of harmful materials through the gap between tooth and restoration.
Biting-forces: Maximum biting force decreasing from molars to incisiors. Average biting force:
Wettability: Measure of the affinity of a liquid for a solid indicated by spreading of a drop.
 Low contact angle = high wettability (hydrophilic if water).
 High contact angle = low wettability (hydrophobic if water).
Optical Properties: Every object we see is a result of reflectance of light from that object reaching an extremely sensitive
photo detect, the eye. 
 Colour – already described.
 Translucency – allow light to pass, absorbs some and scatters the rest.
 Opaque materials – doesn’t transmit light, but absorbs and scatters it.
Surface Texture: The polish surface of a material is an important criteria for selection.
Metamerism: Change of colour of an object due to a change in light source.
Poissons ratio: Ratio of strain occuring at 90 degree angle to the direction of applied force to that occuring in direction of the
force. 
HARDNESS EVALUATION TESTS
1. Vickers
2. Knoop
3. Brinell
4. Rockwell
 Vickers and Knoop involve the use of diamond pyramid indentors
 Vickers hardness: diamond pyramid has a square base
 Knoop Hardness: one axis of the diamond pyramid is much larger than the other
 Brinell hardness test involves the use of steel ball indentor producing indentation of circular cross-section
 Rockwell hardness, a direct measurement of the depth of penetration of a conical diamond indentor
 ARTIFICIAL TEETH
 Replacements for either anterior or posterior teeth' crowns.
 Main components of a denture are the artificial teeth themselves.
 COMMONLY USED MATERIALS
1. Acrylic
2. Porcelain
3. Composite
 IDEAL REQUIREMENTS
1- MATERIALS: Constructed of non-toxic, non-irritant and odorless materials.
2- ESTHETICS: Should ideally match the natural teeth shape, color and translucency.
3- GOOD ATTACHMENT TO DENTURE: Provide chemical attachment with the denture base. Match coefficient of
thermal expansion to denture base
4- LOW DENSITY: Light weight dentures
5- STRONG & TOUGH
 To resist fracture
 Have high mechanical properties to resist the effect of masticatory forces.
 Made of resilient material to minimize the stress transferred to the underlying tissues.
6- HARD: Resist abrasion on during chewing & cleaning. Have high wear resistance (high surface hardness)
7- PERMIT EASY ADJUSTMENT: Allow easy chair side adjustments with dental burs or finishing stones to adjust
occlusion.
8- RESIST STAINING
 COMPOSITION
ACRYLIC TEETH PORCELAIN TEETH
POWDER  Clay (Kaolin)
 Polymer  Polymethylmethacrylate  Silica
 Initiator  Benzoyl peroxide  Binder (Feldspar)
 Pigments
 Glasses
LIQUID
 Monomer  Methylmethacrylate
 Cross linking agent  Ethylene-glycol-
dimethacrylate
 Inhibitor  Hydroquinone
 Activator  N N′-dimethyl-p-toluidine.
 FABRICATION
1. ACRYLIC TEETH
 Reusable metal molds using Dough Molding Technique.
 Injection Molding Technique.
 Highly cross-linked resins used to resist crazing.
2. PORCELAIN TEETH
 Fabrication involves Compaction Firing
 Standard shapes & sizes produced by using molds 30% larger than required to allow shrinkage
during firing.
 Small holes or metal pins are incorporated in the base of Porcelain teeth during their production for
mechanical attachment.
DIFFERENCES ACRYLIC TEETH PORCELAIN TEETH
AESTHETICS Good Greater translucency and depth of
color
RETENTION TO ACRYLIC BASE Chemical Mechanical
DENSITY (WEIGHT) Low (1.2) High (2.4)
RESILIENCY (MODULUS OF ELASTICITY)  2.5  80
 Resilient - Preserve the alveolar  Not resilient
 bone and soft tissue.  Could transmit the force causing
 Could be used in case of diabetic alveolar bone resorption and soft
patient. tissue injury
 Should not be used in case of
diabetic patient.
 Poor ridge support
NOISY Quiet Produce noise while eating
HARDNESS Low High
WEAR RESISTANCE Low High
COLOR STABILITY Easy to be stained Difficult to be stained
ADJUSTMENT AND GRINDING Can be adjusted, grind and repolished Cannot be grind easily and difficult to
be glazed so it canot be used in patient
with diminished interocclusal distance
IMPACT STRENGTH High Low (porcelain is brittle)
COEFFICIENT OF THERMAL EXPANSION Similar to that of acrylic denture base Similar to that of acrylic denture base
STRENGTH IN THIN SECTION Strong, enough to be used in cases of Brittle and cannot be used in cases of
closed bite closed bite
 NON ELASTIC IMPRESSION MATERIAL
Four main types of impression materials classified as non-elastic materials:
(1) Impression plaster
(2) Impression compound
(3) Impression waxes
(4) Zinc oxide / eugenol impression pastes
IMPRESSION PLASTER
 Composition
 Calcined, β-calcium sulphate hemihydrate  which when mixed with water reacts to form calcium sulphate
dihydrate.
 Potassium sulphate  Anti expansion agents. secondary effect of accelerating the setting reaction,
 Borax  A retarder, such as, is normally incorporated, in order to give a material in which the setting
characteristics are controlled.
 A pigment such as alazarin red is also commonly used, in order to make a clear distinction between the impression
and the model after casting of the model.
 Uses
 Preliminary impression  Freshly mixed plaster is too fluid to be used in a stock impression tray and is normally
used in a special tray, constructed using a 1–1.5 mm spacer. The tray may be constructed from acrylic resin or
shellac.
 Another technique is to record the plaster impression as a wash in a preliminary impression compound.
 Dental impression plaster remains a useful material, particularly when recording impressions of patients with
excessively mobile soft tissues overlying the residual alveolar bone (a ‘flabby’ ridge).
 Before casting a plaster model in a plaster impression, the impression must be coated with a separating agent,
otherwise separation is impossible.
 The water-absorbing nature of these materials often causes patients to complain about a very dry sensation after
having impressions recorded.
 Disinfection of a plaster impression can be achieved with a 10 minute soak in sodium hypochlorite solution as
described previously.
 Accurate impression
 Fluid
 Moisture absorption
 Minimal dimension change
IMPRESSION COMPOUND
 Thermoplastic material
 Composition
COMPONENT EXAMPLE FUNCTION
Thermoplastic material (47%) Natural or synthetic resins and waxes Characterizes the softening
temperature
Filler (50%) Talc Gives ‘body’ by increasing viscosity of
the softened material; reduces thermal
contraction
Lubricant (3%) Stearic acid Improves flow properties
 These are usually classified as
 Type I (lower fusing): Used as impression material
 Type II (higher fusing): Used for constructing impression tray
 Difference in fusing temperature is characterized by difference in composition of thermoplastic material
 The lower fusing, type I impression materials may be supplied in either sheet or stick form.
 The sheet material is used for recording impressions of edentulous ridges, normally using stock trays.
 The sheet material is normally softened using a water bath.
 A temperature in the range 55– 60ºC is normally found to be ideal.
  The stick material is used for border extensions on impression trays or for recording impressions of single crowns
using the copper ring technique.
 The stick material is generally softened using a flame.
 The material is tempered in a water bath before placing in the patient’s mouth.
 Properties
1. Value of Flow
 Value of flow at mouth temperature (37*C) and at 45*C
 Type I material should flow readily at just above mouth temperature
 Type II material should ideally not distort at mouth temperature
2. Impression taking property
 The other main requirement of standards is for impression taking properties. This applies to type 1
materials only.
 The material should be capable of recording sharp grooves 0.2–4 mm wide cut into the surface of a
metal test block
3. Viscosity
 Impression compound is the most viscous of the impression materials in common use
 The very high viscosity of impression compound is significant in two ways. Firstly, it limits the degree
of fine detail which can be recorded in an impression. Secondly, it characterizes compound as muco-
compressive impression material
4. Compound is fairly rigid after setting and has poor elastic properties
5. The materials have large values of coefficient of thermal expansion and undergo considerable shrinkage on
removal from the mouth.
6. Three factors combine to produce significant internal stresses within the compound impression.
 The high value of coefficient of thermal expansion.
 The poor thermal conductivity.
 The relatively large temperature drop from the softening temperature to room temperature
 Use
 Impression compound is most widely used for recording preliminary impressions of edentulous
arches.
 Impression compound is still used widely in stick form to modify/refine the peripheral extent of a
special tray, particularly for complete dentures or in the edentulous regions for partial dentures
ZINC OXIDE/EUGENOL IMPRESSION PASTES
These materials are normally supplied as two pastes which are mixed together on a paper pad or glass slab.
1. Zinc oxide paste: White color (Catalyst paste)
2. Eugenol paste: Reddish brown color (Base paste)
 Composition
COMPONENT FUNCTION
PASTE 1  Zinc oxide  Reactive ingredient which takes part in
setting reaction
 Olive oil, linseed oil or equivalent  Inert component used to form paste with
zinc oxide
 Zinc acetate or equivalent (in small  To accelerate setting
quantities)  To accelerate setting
 Water (trace) in some products
PASTE 2  Eugenol (oil of cloves)  Reactive ingredient which takes part in
setting reaction
 Kaolin, talc or equivalent  Inert filler used to form a paste with
eugenol
 Reaction
 Two molecules of eugenol react with zinc oxide to form the salt zinc eugenolate
 Ionic salt bonds are formed between zinc and the phenolic oxygens of each molecule of eugenol.
 Two further co-ordinate bonds are formed by donation of pairs of electrons from the methoxyoxygens to zinc.
  Uses
 These materials are normally used to record the final impressions of edentulous arches.
 The thickness of paste used is normally around 1 mm. This thin section of material results in an
insignificant dimensional change on setting and subsequent storage of the impression.
 The major restriction on the use of these materials is their lack of elasticity.
 Properties
 Materials record fine detail
 Have good dimensional stability.
 In addition to recording conventional non undercut impressions the materials, it also traditionally been
used for recording interocclusal relationships, although there is now increased use of elastomeric
materials for this purpose.
 Occasionally, however, eugenol may promote an allergic response in some patients. To cater for this type
of patient, eugenol-free zinc oxide impression pastes are available.
IMPRESSION WAXES
 Impression waxes are rarely used to record complete impressions but are normally used to correct small
imperfections in other impressions, particularly those of the zinc oxide/ eugenol type.
 Waxes can also be used to produce a muco compressive impression of the edentulous saddles for a lower, free-end
saddle partial denture – the so called Applegate technique. These materials consist, typically, of a mixture of a low
melting paraffin wax and beeswax in a ratio of about 3 : 1. This composition ensures a very high degree of flow at
mouth temperature.