Wear quantification of human enamel and dental glass–ceramics using white light profilometry

The aim of this study was to develop a protocol for quantifying wear using white light profilometry. Human molar cusps and glass–ceramic disc (Ceramco-3, Ceramco, USA) surfaces were digitised using a non-contact profilometer (Proscan-2000, Scantron, UK) with an S16/3.5 white light sensor (Stil-S.A., France), before and after in vitro wear testing. Digitised images were superimposed using the dedicated software (Proform, Scantron, UK). Superimposed images were further processed in Proscan-2000 software to eliminate interferences with calculation of wear quantification parameters (volume, mean-height loss) by isolation of the worn area. Scanning repeatability and operator uncertainty introduced systematic errors that were also evaluated. The elimination of the areas surrounding the wear pattern produced significantly improved results for tooth (p < 0.05) and glass–ceramic disc (p < 0.001) mean-height loss. Tooth volume loss accuracy was improved by 6.83% while disc volume loss was adequately calculated using the softwareʹs automated tool. Operator uncertainty tests produced mean (SD) mm3 differences of 0.0040 (0.0023) for tooth specimens and 0.0013 (0.0007) for glass–ceramic disc specimens. Scanning repeatability tests produced mean (SD) mm3 differences of 0.0024 (0.0007) for tooth specimens and 0.0030 (0.0015) for glass–ceramic disc specimens. The improved and repeatable measurements obtained may suggest a similar approach to be beneficial for similar applications and materials.