Glass Crystallisation In Dental Materials

Three mechanisms of controlled crystallisation are suitable for fabricating glass ceramics for restorative dental applications: surface crystallisation, volume crystallisation and two-fold crystallisation. The main crystal phases are leucite, lithium disilicate and fluorapatite. In the two-fold mechanism, two different types of crystals, specifically apatite and leucite, are precipitated in parallel. The resulting glass ceramics are chemically durable, very strong and also translucent. These properties have enabled the development of modern dental materials that simulate the characteristics of natural teeth.