Abstract
In vivo-formed deposits on prosthetic materials are of considerable interest. Deposit quantification is important to gain insight into the mechanisms of formation and removal.
A new method is presented for the quantitative investigation of deposit formation in vivo on 12 experimental materials after one year. The parameter assessed is the deposition parameter, D, the fraction of the surface covered by deposits. The materials were arranged in a given sequence in the prosthesis flanges and carried in two investigations by 11 and 20 participants for one year.
The results show that the parameter D is strongly material-, participant-, and site-dependent. Differences between materials varied by a factor of at least 25; PMMA (Polymethylmethacrylate) was always lowest in D value. The D values in the upper prosthesis were always larger than in the lower prosthesis; the ratio Dupper /D lower was 2.3 ± 0.5.
The material parameters strongly influencing the deposit formation were of both the monomer and the filler type. Attempts were made to correlate D with surface hardness, surface roughness, and water absorption. Only the last parameter was clearly linearly related to D.
LASMA (Laser Mass Spectrometry) studies showed that the chemical nature of the deposits formed in vivo on prosthetic materials is. in general, initially different from that of calculus.
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