title: A new method to measure the condensation pressure of amalgam under in vivo conditions.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the condensation pressure of amalgam achieved under close to in vivo conditions by 42 general practitioners who were asked to fill a pre-cut standard class 2 cavity in a mannequin head. A measuring device was designed to allow the maximum and average condensation pressures and working and resting periods to be obtained. The results showed a maximum condensation pressure of 9.17 +/- 3.04 MPa and 4.09 +/- 1.41 MPa with a small (diameter, 1.15 mm) and a large (diameter, 1.8 mm) amalgam plugger, respectively. Only one of the 42 dentists reached the recommended condensation pressure of 15 MPa (Jørgensen, 1977). A significant (p less than or equal to 0.001) correlation between the duration of the working periods and the maximum condensation pressure was found (r = 0.61). Further investigations are required to determine the influence of these different condensation pressures on the physical properties of various amalgams.
mesh_terms: D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D003723:Dental Amalgam; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D008365:Manometry / Q000295:instrumentation; D011312:Pressure; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014160:Transducers, Pressure
chemical_list: D003723:Dental Amalgam