Advisory Committee Chair
Ejvis Lamani
Advisory Committee Members
Nathaniel C Lawson
Chung H Kau
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2019
Degree Name by School
Master of Science (MS) School of Dentistry
Abstract
Orthodontic bite turbos are used to separate the maxillary and mandibular arches when disocclusion is needed for facial placement of orthodontic brackets or extrusion of teeth. The bite turbo should have adequate wear resistance to maintain the disocclusion but also avoid abrasion of the opposing enamel. The objective of this study was to measure the wear and opposing enamel wear of three materials used as bite turbos. 8 specimens (10x8x4 mm) each of Transbond LR (3M), Transbond Plus (3M) and Triad gel (Dentsply) were prepared in silicone molds and light cured for 30 seconds using an Acteon Satelec Blue Ray 3 (420-480 nm, 3,000 mW/cm2 ± 10%). The specimens were wet polished to 2,000 grit SiC paper. Cusps of extracted human premolars were isolated and prepared to a standard cone shape. A reference flat enamel surface was prepared from extracted maxillary incisors. The bite turbo materials, flat incisors and opposing cone-shaped enamel cusps were placed into the modified UAB wear testing device. The device was run in 33% gylcerine at 20N for 200,000 cycles at 1Hz. Before and after wear testing, the surfaces of the bite turbos, flat incisors, and cone-shaped enamel cusps were scanned with a non-contact profilometer at 10 micron resolution. Superimposition software was used to measure the volumetric wear of the bite turbo materials, flat incisors and opposing enamel. Volumetric wear was compared with a 1-way ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc analysis. Significant differences were seen between material and opposing enamel wear for materials (p<.01). Triad gel experienced significantly more wear than other materials (.878±.196mm3), followed by Transbond Plus (.317±.062mm3), Transbond LR (.136±.027mm3), and enamel (.053±.04mm3). Wear of opposing enamel was statistically less in from Triad gel (.039±.008mm3), while Transbond LR (.158±.086mm3), Transbond Plus (.126±.025mm3) and enamel (.128±.035mm3) were all statistically similar. All bite turbo materials wear more than natural enamel and cause similar or less opposing tooth wear than tooth-tooth contact. The type of material used for bite turbos may be selected based on the clinician’s preference for longevity of the bite turbo.
Recommended Citation
Feagin, Kyle, "Wear of Orthodontic Bite Turbos and Opposing Enamel" (2019). All ETDs from UAB. 1633.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/1633