Stronger, prettier dentures? New ceramic materials for dental bridges?
Chemists in Germany believe they have made a breakthrough in creating a better ceramic.
Glass chemist Prof. Dr. Christian Rüssel of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) and his colleagues of the Otto-Schott-Institute for Glass Chemistry were successful in producing a new nanocrystalline glass ceramic, which may be suitable for use in dentistry due to their strength and optical characteristics.
Science Daily News is reporting that the glass chemists of Jena University have recently published their ceramic research results in the online-edition of the science magazine Journal of Biomedical Materials Research.
Prof. Rüssel told SDN,”We achieve a strength five times higher than with comparable denture ceramics available today. In combination with new optical characteristics an additional field of application is opening up for these materials in dentistry. The enamel is partly translucent, which the ceramic is also supposed to be.”
The fundamental materials are melted at approximately 1.500 °C, then cooled before being finely cut up. The material is then melted and cooled a second time. Finally, the nanocrystals are produced by controlled heating to about 1,000 °C, which determines the crystallisation crucial for the strength of the product.
According to Rüssel, the ceramic ends up looking translucent, like a natural tooth.
This is good news for dentists, denture patients and those seeking dental implants who want the look and strength of regular teeth.
Read more: Nanocrystals Make Dentures Shine
