title: Quantitative assessment of the enamel machinability in tooth preparation with dental diamond burs.
abstract: Enamel cutting using dental handpieces is a critical process in tooth preparation for dental restorations and treatment but the machinability of enamel is poorly understood. This paper reports on the first quantitative assessment of the enamel machinability using computer-assisted numerical control, high-speed data acquisition, and force sensing systems. The enamel machinability in terms of cutting forces, force ratio, cutting torque, cutting speed and specific cutting energy were characterized in relation to enamel surface orientation, specific material removal rate and diamond bur grit size. The results show that enamel surface orientation, specific material removal rate and diamond bur grit size critically affected the enamel cutting capability. Cutting buccal/lingual surfaces resulted in significantly higher tangential and normal forces, torques and specific energy (p<0.05) but lower cutting speeds than occlusal surfaces (p<0.05). Increasing material removal rate for high cutting efficiencies using coarse burs yielded remarkable rises in cutting forces and torque (p<0.05) but significant reductions in cutting speed and specific cutting energy (p<0.05). In particular, great variations in cutting forces, torques and specific energy were observed at the specific material removal rate of 3mm(3)/min/mm using coarse burs, indicating the cutting limit. This work provides fundamental data and the scientific understanding of the enamel machinability for clinical dental practice.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China. Electronic address: xiaofeisong@tju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiao-Fei
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: School of Stomatology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China.
authors.forename: Chen-Xin
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Matter & Materials, College of Science, Technology & Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia. Electronic address: ling.yin@jcu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000601:surgery*; D003754:Dental High-Speed Equipment; D018130:Diamond / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties; D019246:Tooth Preparation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D019415:Torque; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018130:Diamond
keywords: Cutting energy; Cutting force; Cutting torque; Enamel; Machinability