New dynamic corrosion test for dental materials.
A new laboratory technique has been developed in an effort to simulate the deterioration processes occurring in dental amalgam restorations while they are exposed to attack by the oral environment and simultaneously subjected to biting forces during mastication. This combined mechanical wear and corrosion action may be one of the major contributors to the degradation of dental amalgam restorations. The technique provides the capability of varying and measuring electrochemical and mechanical parameters during a sliding-wear process in a corrosive environment. A high-copper dental amalgam was selected and tested to demonstrate the applicability of the method in evaluating and studying the effects of the combined action of wear and corrosion processes on dental materials. For the particular amalgam material tested in the present study, it was found that sliding-wear significantly lowered its corrosion potential and increased corrosion rates by at least one order of magnitude.