Wear of low-fusing dental porcelains

Statement of problem. The resistance of wear of dental porcelains is of concern when selecting a material for metal-ceramic and all-ceramic restorations. Purpose. An in vitro investigation was performed to rank a number of dental porcelains with respect to their wear-resistance properties. Material and methods. The wear test of 9 dentin porcelains was carried out on a wear test machine and the amount of wear was measured as the reduction of height of the specimens. The surface hardness and surface roughness were also considered. Results. Resistance of wear was lowest for Finesse porcelain, and highest for Creation porcelain. Surface hardness values of the porcelain were quite similar for all porcelains but could be classified into 3 groups with Finesses and Vita Alpha porcelains as the softest and Creation porcelain as the hardest material. Conclusions. The low-fusing porcelain Finesse showed less abrasion resistance in comparison with Ducera Gold and Ti-Ceram porcelains. Among the high-fusing types, Vita Alpha porcelain was more wear-disposed than the others.