Effect of wax melting range and investment liquid concentration on the accuracy of a three-quarter crown casting.
BACKGROUND
Dental casting accuracy is influenced by the setting expansion of investment materials. Although setting expansion can help compensate for casting shrinkage, it cannot be fully realized under a confined wax pattern. Exactly how soft a wax pattern should be to ensure optimum setting expansion has not been determined.


OBJECTIVE
In this study, the relationship between wax characteristics and the casting accuracy of a three-quarter crown was investigated.


METHODS
Four different wax materials were used: paraffin 135 with a softening temperature of 37.5 degrees C (P38), paraffin 1080 with a softening temperature of 63.5 degrees C, Shofu Red with a softening temperature of 41.5 degrees C, and Shofu Hard with a softening temperature of 51 degrees C. Two mixtures of phosphate-bonded investment were prepared: one with 100% special liquid and another with 75% special liquid plus 25% distilled water. For both, the liquid/powder ratio was 16:100. A type IV gold alloy was cast into a three-quarter crown mold. The discrepancy at 6 locations (1 lingual, 1 mesial, 1 distal, and 3 facial) was measured with a traveling microscope. Five readings were collected. Means and standard deviations were calculated for all data. A 2-way analysis of variance followed by the Student-Newman-Keuls test for multiple comparisons was used to identify significant differences between groups at the 95% confidence level.


RESULTS
For the gingival measurement sites (lingual, mesial, and distal), there was no significant difference in cast adaptation when Shofu Hard and paraffin 1080 waxes were used. However, the results with these 2 waxes were different than with Shofu Red and P38. For the 3 facial measurement sites, significantly different measurements were found for each wax; P38 demonstrated the best results. Casting shrinkage was smaller with the use of 100% special liquid.


CONCLUSIONS
Within the limitations of this study, casting shrinkage was affected by the type of wax used and was sensitive to the site at which dimensional measurements were performed. The higher the softening temperature, the larger the casting shrinkage.
Ito
Michio
M
Department of Dental Materials, Matsumoto Dental University, Matsumoto, Japan.
Kuroiwa
Akihiro
A
Nagasawa
Sakae
S
Yoshida
Takamitsu
T
Yagasaki
Hiroshi
H
Oshida
Yoshiki
Y
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003442:Crowns; D003734:Dental Casting Investment / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification; D003735:Dental Casting Technique; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design; D006047:Gold Alloys / Q000737:chemistry; D006244:Hardness; D006801:Humans; D007283:Inlay Casting Wax / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification; D008422:Materials Testing; D008853:Microscopy; D010232:Paraffin / Q000145:classification; D010710:Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry; D011208:Powders; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
D003734:Dental Casting Investment; D006047:Gold Alloys; D010710:Phosphates; D011208:Powders; D014867:Water; D010232:Paraffin; D007283:Inlay Casting Wax