Title: Investigation of the nanomechanical and tribological properties of dental materials

Authors: Marwan S. Al-Haik, Shane Trinkle, Daniel Garcia, Fan Yang, Ulises Martinez, Hartono Sumali, Scott Miltenberger

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 87131, New Mexico, USA. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 87131, New Mexico, USA. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 87131, New Mexico, USA. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 87131, New Mexico, USA. ' Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 87131, New Mexico, USA. ' Sandia National Laboratories, MS 1070, P.O. Box 5800 Albuquerque, 87185, New Mexico, USA. ' 7611 Indian School Road, NE, Suite 201 Albuquerque, 87120, New Mexico, USA

Abstract: This study utilises nanoindentation and nanoscratch for testing the human enamel and dentine and three biocompatible dental filling materials: epoxy nanocomposite, glass ionomer, and silver amalgam. Nanoindentation gave hardness and Young|s modulus. Nano-scratch gave critical load in the scratch test, and resistance to sliding wear. The results show that the silver amalgam filling has a higher modulus of elasticity, hardness and wear resistance than the nanocomposite. These relatively nondestructive mechanical characterisation techniques may assist in better understanding the mechanical behaviour of the dental fillers and thus facilitate the design of robust fillers with excellent mechanical properties.

Keywords: dental materials; nanoindentation; nanoscratch; modulus of elasticity; hardness; wear; nanomechanical properties; tribological properties; nanotechnology; human enamel; dentine; biocompatible dental fillings; epoxy nanocomposites; glass ionomer; silver amalgam; mechanical behaviour.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTAMM.2009.022467

International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Multiscale Mechanics, 2009 Vol.1 No.1, pp.1 - 15

Published online: 08 Jan 2009 *

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