Carolina Montoya Mesa
February 2017Abstract
Dental fracture is one of the three most common forms of failure of restored teeth and the most common cause of tooth loss or extraction in elderly patients. Previous investigations conducted on aging of hard tissues have identified that there is a considerable reduction in the mechanical properties (i.e. fracture toughness, fatigue and flexural resistance) of dentin with aging and that may predispose tooth racture. These declines in properties have been attributed to microstructural and chemical composition changes over time. However, these aging processes have not been really quantified and related with the changes in mechanical properties. Accordingly, the aim of this work is to evaluate the aging process of coronal dentin in terms of the evolution of microstructure, changes in chemical composition and mechanical properties from selected age groups (young and old donors). The changes in these properties were evaluated in three different regions (outer, middle and inner) in order to identify spatial variations within the crown.