Influence of Water Infiltration and Flexural Strength Change with Glazing Treatment of Dental Porcelain

Lee, Ju Hee; Lee, Chae Hyun; Song, Jeong Hwan

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of water infiltration and flexural strength changes in dental porcelain with glazing treatment. The block specimens were prepared as experimental materials, using feldspar type commercial dental porcelain; then, these were fired at 940oC for 1 minute. The fired specimens were polished with a dimension of 40Ã—5.5Ã—5 mm. The specimens were distributed to two experimental groups: with and without glazing treatment specimens (n=5), and they were immersed in a solution of pH 7 for 3, 7, and 20 days at 40â„ƒ after fabrication. To evaluate the flexural strength changes with water infiltration treatment in specimens with and without glazing, the 3-point flexural test was performed, using a universal testing machine until failure occurred. Starting powder and fired specimens consisted of amorphous and leucite crystalline phase. The Vickers hardness of fired specimens was more than 1.6 times higher than that of the enamel of natural teeth. According to porosimeter results, the specimens without glazing treatment exhibited a porosity of about 14.7%, whereas the glazed specimens exhibited the lowest porosity at about 1.1%. The average flexural strength of glazed specimens was higher than the flexural strength of specimens without glazing treatment (p<0.05). The flexural strength of all specimens with and without glazing treatment deteriorated with accelerated aging in the solution. In addition, significant differences between these two treatment groups were observed in all of the specimens treated at various water infiltration periods (p<0.05). The exposure of internal pores and micro-cracks in the surface due to polishing of the fired specimens influenced mechanical behaviors. Especially, the flexural strength in specimens without glazing treatment has shown significant degradation with the infiltration of water. Therefore, this study suggests that glazing processes can improve mechanical properties of dental porcelain.