Cutting characteristics of dental glass ceramics during in vitro dental abrasive adjusting using a high-speed electric handpiece

Machinability is an important characteristic of dental ceramics for restorative dentistry because machining is not only commonly employed in dental CAD/CAM systems but also essential in dental adjustments for occlusal fitting and restorative quality. This paper reports on an in vitro study on machinability of dental ceramics by quantifying cutting characteristics of feldspar and leucite glass ceramics in simulated dental adjusting using a high-speed electric handpiece and diamond burs. Cutting forces, force ratio, energy, surface integrity and bur topography were evaluated as functions of clinically relevant cutting conditions. The results indicate that tangential and normal forces and specific cutting energy for both materials exhibited significant dependences (p<0.01) on both the bur depth of cut and the bur feed rate. Surface roughness showed a weak influence by the choice of the material (0.05>p>0.01) but no correlations with the cutting conditions applied (p>0.05). At the slower feed rates or smaller depths of cut the cutting behaviors for the two materials were very similar in terms of cutting forces and specific cutting energy. At the deeper depths of cut or faster feed rates, normal forces for leucite glass ceramic were significantly higher than those for feldspar glass ceramic (p<0.01). However, leucite glass ceramic produced better cutting surfaces with less fracture areas compared with feldspar ceramic due to its lower index of brittleness and higher force threshold for brittle–ductile transition. This research provides a methodological qualification in evaluating cutting characteristics of dental ceramics and quality control in clinical dentistry.