A large amount of research is completed on an annual basis in the area of dental wear. For dental amalgams (fillings), manufacturers are interested in identifying and improving erosion characteristics. To achieve this they complete wear tests in line with ISO standards, e.g. ISO/TS 14569-1 in which they try to mimic the erosion activity in the average mouth.
However wear mechanisms involving teeth and dental restorations in the mouth are very complex. In addition, these mechanisms may differ from one individual to another. Standard wear testing of both dental amalgams and toothpastes consists of using a toothbrush and paste. Typically the toothpaste is rubbed over a reference substrate for a certain number of cycles. The erosion caused by this process is then monitored.
There are a large number of oral care products available aimed at improving the appearance of teeth, e.g. filling paste, toothpaste, etc. Filling pastes need to be resistive to wear, while toothpastes and whitening products need to limit the wear they complete on teeth. As such dental manufacturers are typically interested in characterising wear on teeth or filling amalgams (pastes).
Taylor Hobson offer dental manufacturers and researchers a wide range of measurement solutions for monitoring the wear characteristics of dental pastes and amalgams. For product information click the link below.