Introduction to Dental

Materials

By: Dr.Ruth Tessema

Science of Dental Materials
• Basic science which deals with physical, mechanical and biological
properties of dental materials. The study of science of dental
materials gives the operator a basic knowledge about the materials.
This help to choose a material and allow him/her to effectively
manipulate it.
What is the need of studying this field?
• Recognition of materials
• To make optimal selection of materials
• To understand the behavior of the materials, use, handling and
manipulation.
• Safety consideration of the materials
Dental Materials
• Dental Materials are specially fabricated materials, designed for use in
dentistry. There are many different types of dental material , and their
characteristics vary according to their intended purpose.
• Likewise the structures in the oral cavity are lost or damaged due to
disease such as caries and periodontal disease and trauma.
• The main goal in dentistry is to maintain or improve the quality of life
through replacement or alteration of tooth structure.
• Therefore the main challenge for centuries has been to develop and
select ideal dental materials that can withstand the adverse
conditions of the oral environment.
Oral Environment
• Very demanding
• There can be
• 1. Temperature variations
• 2. PH variations
• 3. Variations in masticatory forces
Ideal Dental Material
• Biocompatible
• Mechanically stable and durable
• Resistant to corrosion
• Should bond permanently to tooth structure or bone.
• Should match the natural appearance of tooth structure and other
visible tissues
• Exhibit properties similar to those of tooth tissues(enamel and dentin)
• Be capable of initiating tissue repair or regeneration of missing or
damaged tissues.
• Dimensionally stable
• Tasteless and Odorless
• Cost effective
Types of Dental materials
• Four groups of materials
• Metals
• Ceramics
• Polymers
• Composites
Metals

• An opaque chemical substance that is a good conductor of heat and

electricity , and when polished is a good reflector of light.
Ceramics

• An inorganic compound with non metallic properties, typically

composed of metallic( or semi metallic) and non metallic elements.
Polymers

• Chemical compound consisting of large organic molecules formed by

the union of many smaller monomer units.
Composites

• Materials made from two or more constituent materials with

significantly different physical or chemical properties, that when
combined, produce a material with characteristic different from the
individual components.
Classifications
• Preventive Dental Materials

• Restorative Dental Materials

• Direct Restorative Dental Materials

• Indirect Restorative Dental Materials

• Auxiliary Dental Materials

Preventive Dental Materials

• To provide resistance to the progression of an active carious lesion.

Preventive Dental Materials
• Pit and fissure sealant
• Materials used primarily for their antibacterial effects.
• Liners, bases , cements and restorative materials that are used
primarily because release fluoride
• Chlorhexidine or other therapeutic agents used to prevent or inhibit
the progression of tooth decay.
Restorative Dental Materials
• Synthetic components that can be used to repair or replace defected
tooth structure, including primers, bonding agents, liners, cement
bases, amalgam ,resin based composites ,compomers, hybrid
ionomers , cast metals, metal-ceramics, ceramics and denture
polymers.
Direct Restorative Materials
• Used intraorally.
• Fabricate restorations/prosthetics devices directly on the teeth or
tissues.
• Eg. Amalgam, Glass Ionomer
Indirect Restorative Materials
• Used extraorally.
• Formed indirectly over a cast or model.
Auxiliary Dental Materials
• Substances used in the process of fabricating dental prostheses and
appliances but do not become part of these devices.
• Acid etching solutions, impression materials, casting investments,
gypsum cast, and model materials , dental waxes, acrylic resins for
impression, bleaching trays, mouth guards, and occlusion aids,
finishing and polishing abrasives.
Selections of Dental Materials
• 1. Analysis of the problem
• 2. Consideration of the requirements
• 3. Consideration of the available materials and their properties.
• 4. Choice of a suitable material
Basic Nature and Properties of Dental
Materials
Properties of Dental Materials
• 1. Physical Properties
• 2. Thermal Properties
• 3. Electrical Properties
• 4. Optical Properties
• 5. Mechanical Properties
1. Physical Properties
• A. Density
• The amount of mass of a material in a given volume.
. B. Viscosity
. The ability of material to flow.
. C. Hardness
. The resistance of a material to indentation.
. D. Abrasion Resistance
. Resist abrasion but not so hard to wear away the opposing tooth.
• E. Solubility and Sorption
• Solubility: susceptible to being dissolved
• Sorption: adsorption plus absorption
• Adsorption: natural process where molecules of a gas or liquid adhere to the
surface of a solid.
• Absorption: passage of a substance into the interior of another by solution
F. Adhesion
. The force of attraction between the molecules/ atoms of two different
surfaces.
• G. Wettability
• Measure of the affinity of a liquid for a solid as indicated by spreading of a
drop.
2. Thermal Properties
• A. Coefficient of Thermal expansion: measure of how much it
expands per unit length if heated one degree higher.
• B. Thermal Conductivity: the rate of heat flow through a material.
• C. Boiling and Melting Points
• D. Vapor Pressure: a measure of liquid’s tendency to evaporate.
3. Electrical Properties
• A. Galvanism: generation of electrical currents.
• B. Electrical Conductivity: the ability of material to conduct the
electrical current.
4. Optical Properties
• A. Color and Esthetics
• B. Metamerism
• C. Fluorescence
• D. Opacity, translucency, transparency
5. Mechanical Properties
• Stress: force per unit area
• Tensile, Compressive and Shear stress
• Tensile: material is pulled apart
• Compressive: material is squeezed together
• Shear: one portion of material is forced to slide by another portion

. Strain: the deformation or change in dimension of an object under stress

experiences.
Structure of Matter and
Principles of Adhesion
By Dr Ruth Tessema
Contents

• Change of State
• lnteratomic Primary Bonds
• lnteratomic Secondary Bonds
• lnteratomic Bond Distance and Bonding Energy
• Thermal Energy
• Crystalline Structure
• Noncrystalline Solids and Their Structures
• Adhesion and Bonding
• Adhesion to Tooth Structure
Change of State
Melting Heat of Vaporization
• SOLID Temp. LIQUID GAS
Latent heat of Fusion

• Heat of Vaporization : when water boils ‘quantity of

energy ’ needed to transform Liquid to Vapor

• Amount of heat needed to evaporate 1 gm of liquid to

vapor (at given temp & pressure)
Interatomic Bond Distance & Bonding Energy

• Bond Distance : Limiting factor which prevents atoms /

molecules from approaching each other too closely

• Bonding Energy: Energy can be defined as a force integrated over

a distance
• Thermal Energy: KE of atoms/molecules at a given temp. atoms are is
constant state of vibration

• If higher the temp. greater the amplitude so, greater is the KE/ Internal
Energy.

• Effect is expansion – called as Thermal Expansion

Crystalline Structure
• Atoms are bonded by Primary / Secondary forces,
• EG. Na+ attract Cl- results in regularly spaced configuration –
Space Lattice/ Crystal.
• Any arrangement of atoms such that every atom is situated
similar to every atom
Non Crystalline Structure

• Waxes – may solidify as amorphous materials such that the

molecules are distributed at random.

• Glass – its atoms tends to develop a short order instead of

long range order (Crystalline Structure)
Glass Transition Temperature
• The temp. at which there is an abrupt increase in the thermal
expansion coefficient, indicating increased molecular mobility is called
Glass Transition Temperature(Tg)

• It is characteristic of the particular glassy structure.

• Also k/as Glass Temperature

ADHESION
• In complete denture retention – Adhesion between
Denture & Saliva & Soft tissue
• 2 substances brought into Intimate contact, one adhere
to the other, this Force is
Adhesion : In / When Unlike molecules are attracted
{Cohesion: In / When Like molecules are attracted}

• Material / film produced for Adhesion is Adhesive

(fluid/semiviscous is best)
• Material to which it is applied is Adherend
Bonding
• In Mechanical bonding there is Strong attachment, ex – Screws,
Bolts, Undercuts

• Enamel Acid Etching – 37% Phosphoric Acid (10-20 secs) forms

minute pores – resin flows into pores

• Increased /improved Mechanical Retention – Decreased

Marginal Leakage, Stains, Secondary Caries & Irritation of Pulp
Principles of Adhesion

• Surface Energy
• Wetting
• Contact Angle of Wetting ()
Surface Energy
• Energy per unit area of surface is referred to as Surface Energy/
Tension

• Greater Surface energy – greater capacity of Adhesion

• Wetting
• Liquid must flow easily over entire surface & adhere to solid

• Contact Angle of Wetting: the angle formed by a liquid at the

three phase boundary where the liquid, gas and solid intersect.
Interatomic Bonding:
The forces that hold atoms together are called cohesive
forces.

These interatomic bonds may be classified as primary or

secondary.
Primary Bond
A bond that forms between atoms and that involves the
exchanging or sharing of electrons.
Secondary Bond
A bond that involves attraction between molecules. Unlike
primary bonding, there is no transfer or sharing of electrons.
 Interatomic
Bonding

Primary Secondary

Van der Waals

Metalic Bonds Ionic Bonds Covalent Bonds Hydrogen Bonds
Forces
Interatomic Primary Bonding:
Interatomic primary bonding may be of three different types:
1. Ionic Bonds
• Result from the mutual attraction of positive and negative
charges.
• The classic example is sodium chloride (Na+Cl-).
• In dentistry, ionic bonding exists in certain crystalline phases of
some dental materials, such as gypsum and phosphate based
cement .
2. Covalent Bonds:
• In many chemical compounds, two valence electrons shared by
adjacent atoms.
• The hydrogen molecule H2, is an example of covalent bonding.
• Covalent bonding occur in many organic compounds, such as dental
resin.
3. Metallic Bonds:

• It is the attraction force between positive metal ions and the

delocalized (freely moving) electrons, gathered in an electron cloud.

• These free electrons are responsible for the high electric and thermal
conductivities of metals also for their ability to deform plastically.

• Found only in metals.

Interatomic secondary Bonding:

In contrast with primary bonds, secondary bonds don’t share

electrons. Instead, charge variations among molecules or atomic
groups inducing polar forces that attract the molecules.
1. Hydrogen Bonding:
• Bonds between hydrogen atom and atoms of the most
electronegative elements (N, O, F) are called hydrogen
bonds.
• When a water molecule intermingle with other water
molecules, the hydrogen (positive) portion of one molecule
is attached to the oxygen (negative) portion of its
neighboring molecule and hydrogen bridges are formed.
Polarity of this nature is important in accounting for the
intermolecular reaction in many organic compounds, such
as the absorption of water by synthetic dental resins.
2. Van der Waals Forces:
• Van der Waals Forces form the basis of a dipole
attraction.
• Normally, the electrons of the atoms are distributed
equally around the nucleus and produce an
electrostatic field around the atom. However this field
may fluctuate so that its charge becomes
momentarily positive and negative. A fluctuating
dipole is thus created that will attract other similar
dipoles. Such interatomic forces are quite weak .