Journal of Dental Research, Vol 69, 1599-1601, Copyright © 1990 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals

ARTICLES

Relationship of restoration width, tooth position, and alloy to fracture at the margins of 13- to 14-year-old amalgams

J. W. Osborne and E. N. Gale
Department of Restorative Dentistry, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver 80262.

The effect of width of the restoration, tooth position, and amalgam type on the fracture of the margins of 13- to 14-year-old, high-copper, amalgam restorations was evaluated. The evaluation assessed 193 photographs of restorations by use of ridit analysis and a rank-ordering test. The results indicated that the width of the restoration was the predominant factor and that tooth position and the different high-copper alloys were less significant. Interactions between tooth position and width indicated that lower premolars with conservative restorations exhibited the least fracture at the margins, and upper premolars with a wide preparation exhibited the most. It is postulated that tooth deflection under mastication may play a role in long-term fracture at the margins of amalgams.

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