Comparative study of mechanical properties of dental restorative materials and dental hard tissues in compressive loads

There are two objectives. One is to show the differences in the mechanical properties of various dental restorative materials compared to those of enamel and dentin. The other is to ascertain which dental restorative materials are more suitable for clinical treatments. Amalgam, dental ceramic, gold alloy, dental resin, zirconia, and titanium alloy were processed as dental restorative material specimens. The specimens (width, height, and length of 1.2, 1.2, and 3.0 mm, respectively) were compressed at a constant loading speed of 0.1 mm/min. The maximum stress (115.0 ± 40.6, 55.0 ± 24.8, 291.2 ± 45.3, 274.6 ± 52.2, 2206.0 ± 522.9, and 953.4 ± 132.1 MPa), maximum strain (7.8% ± 0.5%, 4.0% ± 0.1%, 12.7% ± 0.8%, 32.8% ± 0.5%, 63.5% ± 14.0%, and 45.3% ± 7.4%), and elastic modulus (1437.5 ± 507.2, 1548.4 ± 583.5, 2323.4 ± 322.4, 833.1 ± 92.4, 3895.2 ± 202.9, and 2222.7 ± 277.6 MPa) were evident for amalgam, dental ceramic, gold alloy, dental resin, zirconia, and titanium alloy, respectively. The reference hardness value of amalgam, dental ceramic, gold alloy, dental resin, zirconia, and titanium alloy was 90, 420, 130–135, 86.6–124.2, 1250, and 349, respectively. Since enamel grinds food, its abrasion resistance is important. Therefore, hardness value should be prioritized for enamel. Since dentin absorbs bite forces, mechanical properties should be prioritized for dentin. The results suggest that gold alloy simultaneously has a hardness value lower than enamel (74.8 ± 18.1), which is important in the wear of the opposing natural teeth, and higher maximum stress, maximum strain, and elastic modulus than dentin (193.7 ± 30.6 MPa, 11.9% ± 0.1%, 1653.7 ± 277.9 MPa, respectively), which are important considering the rigidity to absorb bite forces.