Abrasive materials, which are primarily minerals, are employed in finishing and polishing restorations in order to remove any irregularities or rough surfaces that could collect dirt and reduce the smoothness of the surface.
By rotating the bur with a hand piece, these dental abrasives material particles operate on the tooth or restorative materials by coating the bur’s surface. Some abrasives are used as paste, while others are used as polishing strips.
Here is a list of Abrasive materials in Dentistry and their respective uses:
1 Natural diamond
Used in composite materials made of ceramic and resin.
- Synthetic Diamond
Used on tooth structures, ceramic materials, and resin-based composite materials are synthetic diamonds.
- Arkansas Stone
For finely grinding metal alloys and dental enamel, use an Arkansas stone.
- Chalk
Used to polish plastic, gold foil, amalgam, and dental enamel.
- Corundum
White stone corundum is used to mill metal alloys.
- Emery: Used to polish acrylic resin or metal alloys.
- Garnet
Metal alloys and materials made of acrylic resin can be ground using garnet.
- Pumice
Using pumice to polish acrylic resins, gold foil, and dental amalgam
- Quartz
Finish metal alloys and grind dental enamel with quartz
- Sand
Materials for grinding acrylic polymers and metal alloys
11 Zirconium Silicate
An ingredient in toothpaste for oral hygiene
- Cuttle
Polishing dental amalgam restorations and metal edges
- Silicon Carbide
Metal alloys, ceramics, and acrylic resin compounds comprise silicon carbide.
- Aluminum Oxide
Used to finish metal alloys, resin-based composites, and ceramic materials, as well as to modify dental enamel.
For polishing teeth and metallic restorations, use tin oxide.
Why use dental abrasives?
An essential component of dental treatments is a dental abrasive. This area of expertise focuses on the polishing and finishing of direct dental restorative materials as well as complete dentures, detachable partial dentures, crowns, and bridges. Effective polishing and finishing of direct or indirect dental restorations may not only contribute to good oral health and the durability of the restorative material, but also to good aesthetics.
Three types of dental abrasives (DA) can be categorised: finishing, polishing, and cleaning abrasives.
Finishing abrasives are typically harsh, coarse, and used largely to preserve and develop a restoration’s desired contour, prepare teeth, and remove imperfections from surfaces. Polishing abrasives often have finer particles and are softer than those used for finishing. The cleaning abrasives are typically soft and the particles are small in size and are intended to remove softer material that adheres to enamel or restorative material substrate, whereas the polishing abrasives are responsible for smoothing the surfaces that were typically roughened by finishing abrasives.
