Wear mechanisms of resin and porcelain denture teeth.

The aim of this investigation was to describe the wear mechanism in occlusal contact areas of porcelain and acrylic resin denture teeth opposing different dental materials. A 55-year-old man with earlier extensive wear was given two complete dentures, as identical as possible, in the upper jaw. One of the dentures had diatoric teeth in cross-linked resin and the other denture had diatoric teeth in porcelain. The dentures were antagonizing a new gold-acrylic fixed bridge from 46 to 36. Two contralateral segments of the bridge were made as removable double crowns. The removable segments were made in different materials: gold, porcelain, light-cured resin, and heat-cured resin. Wear of the denture teeth was studied by scanning electron microscopy on replica models made after 1 and 2 months of antagonizing contact with the various materials. Wear of both porcelain and modern cross-linked resin teeth was mainly a fatigue type of wear. Abrasion was observed when hard particles were assumed to be part of the wear debris.