Abstract
The aim of this investigation was to describe the wear mechanism in occlusal contact areas of porcelain and acrylic resin denture teeth opposing different dental materials. A 55-year-old man with earlier extensive wear was given two complete dentures, as identical as possible, in the upper jaw. One of the dentures had diatoric teeth in cross-linked resin and the other denture had diatoric teeth in porcelain. The dentures were antagonizing a new gold-acrylic fixed bridge from 46 to 36. Two contralateral segments of the bridge were made as removable double crowns. The removable segments were made in different materials: gold, porcelain, light-cured resin, and heat-cured resin. Wear of the denture teeth was studied by scanning electron microscopy on replica models made after 1 and 2 months of antagonizing contact with the various materials. Wear of both porcelain and modern cross-linked resin teeth was mainly a fatigue type of wear. Abrasion was observed when hard particles were assumed to be part of the wear debris.
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