Nh. Abukasim et al., THE BALL MILL AS A MEANS OF INVESTIGATING THE MECHANICAL FAILURE OF DENTAL MATERIALS, Journal of dentistry, 24(1-2), 1996, pp. 117-124
Objective: The main purpose of this paper is to present a new method o
f predicting clinical performance using mechanical loading in a ball m
ill. Methods: A series of four experiments (two involving a hybrid com
posite and one each on orthodontic brackets and bands) is described in
which the ball mill was used to subject specimens to mechanical fatig
ue. Results: A reproducibility study using composite beam specimens sh
owed no significant difference between the Mean Survival Time (MST) in
all the three experimental runs (P = 0.42). When subjected to thermal
cycling, the MST of the cycled group was 155.0 min compared to 247.0
min fur the control group (P < 0.01). The MST of untreated and sandbla
sted brackets was 7.9 h and 14 h respectively (P < 0.01). There is als
o a significant difference (P < 0.001) in the MST of sandblasted bands
when compared to the untreated bands. Conclusions: The ball mill prov
ed to be a convenient and reproducible means of producing mechanical f
atigue and may be useful in predicting the clinical performance of den
tal materials.