An experimental study of exploitation of materials used for prosthetic temporary restorations

Abstract

Temporary restorations more often play their role for a definitely longer period of time, than the time necessary for implementation of final prosthetic work. Therefore, they are subjected to adverse effects of chemical, physical and thermal factors in a patient's oral cavity. Since loss of temporary prosthetic work can have negative consequences for an entire treatment process, it is important to identify a potential risk of damaging temporary restorations by factors derived from the diet of patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of components of the beverages, such as coffee and tea, consumed daily by the patients, on the mechanical properties of materials used in temporary restorations. The experimental design applied, as well as gained results, were justified by appropriate, chosen statistical methods. The conducted research demonstrated the change of mechanical properties of studied materials for their flexural strength, as well as microhardness. The tendency of changes in both result variables, compared with the samples kept in neutral environment – distilled water, indicates the decrease in mechanical strength and microhardness of materials conditioned in coffee and tea. It can be claimed that the components of beverages present in an everyday diet of patients have a considerably adverse effect on the quality of materials used for provisional crowns and bridges.