title: Potential countersample materials for in vitro simulation wear testing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Any laboratory investigation of the wear resistance of dental materials needs to consider oral conditions so that in vitro wear results can be correlated with in vivo findings. The choice of the countersample is a critical factor in establishing the pattern of tribological wear and in achieving an efficient in vitro wear testing system. This research investigated the wear behavior and surface characteristics associated with three candidate countersample materials used for in vitro wear testing in order to identify a possible suitable substitute for human dental enamel.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three candidate materials, stainless steel, steatite and dental porcelain were evaluated and compared to human enamel. A variety of factors including hardness, wear surface evolution and frictional coefficients were considered, relative to the tribology of the in vivo situation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results suggested that the dental porcelain investigated bore the closest similarity to human enamel of the materials investigated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Assessment of potential countersample materials should be based on the essential tribological simulation supported by investigations of mechanical, chemical and structural properties. The selected dental porcelain had the best simulating ability among the three selected countersample materials and this class of material may be considered as a possible countersample material for in vitro wear test purposes. Further studies are required, employing a wider range of dental ceramics, in order to optimise the choice of countersample material for standardized in vitro wear testing.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham B4 6NN, UK. a.c.c.shortall@bham.ac.uk
authors.forename: Adrian C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Shortall
authors.forename: Xiao Q
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Marquis
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003764:Dental Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D003776:Dental Porcelain / Q000737:chemistry; D017276:Friction; D006244:Hardness; D006801:Humans; D008277:Magnesium Oxide / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D013193:Stainless Steel / Q000737:chemistry; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013499:Surface Properties; D019217:Tooth Attrition / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D003764:Dental Materials; D003776:Dental Porcelain; D013193:Stainless Steel; D008277:Magnesium Oxide; C089766:steatite; D012822:Silicon Dioxide