Chemical Durability of Dental Ceramic Material in Acid Medium

Dental materials need to be thoroughly examined in order to assess their long-term therapeutical value. Chemical degradation of dental ceramic material enhances its roughness, leading to the wear of the opposing natural tooth or restorative material, greater plaque attachment to ceramics, weakening of the ceramic structure causing the critical ion exchange at the surface and enhancing the sensitivity to future chemical agents. The aim of this study was to test loss of mass in samples of four different dental ceramic materials in an acid medium. The least mass loss was recorded in apatite glass ceramic (IPS-Empress 2 for layering) (4.9±0.3 μg/cm2), and most mass loss was recorded in alumina ceramic (Vitadur alpha) (15±0.2 μg/cm2). Lithium disilicate glass ceramic (IPS-Empress 2 for coloring) and alumina (IPS-Classic) showed very similar results (9.4±3.4 μg/cm2 and 10.1±0.3 μg/cm2). The values of mass loss in samples in this work, as well as in the most of the literature, are minimal and presumably do not have any clinical or toxicological effects. However, it does not imply that these values can be generalized and transferred to dental ceramic materials that were not yet analyzed.