Mercury hygiene

• Do not contact mercury with skin
• Clean up spills to minimize mercury vaporization
• Store mercury or precapsulated products in tight containers
• Only triturate amalgam components-in tightly- sealed capsules
• Use amalgam with covers
• Store spent amalgam under water or fixer in a tightly sealed jar
• Use high vacuum suction during amalgam alloy placement, setting, or removal when mercury may be vaporized
• Polishing amalgams generally causes localized melting of silver-mercury phase with release of mercury vapor, so water cooling and evacuation must be used

Glass Ionomer Cements

Applications

a. Class V restorations-resin-modified glass ionomers for geriatric dentistry
b. Class II restorations-resin-modified glass ionomers, metal-modified glass ionomers in pediatric dentistry
c. Class III restorations-resin-modified glass ionomers
d. permanent cementing of inlays, crowns, bridges, and/or orthodontic band/brackets. In addition, it can be used as a cavity liner and as a base.

Classification by composition

a. Glass ionomer-limited use
b. Metal-modified glass ionomer-limited use
c. Resin-modified glass ionomer-popular use

Components

a. Powder-aluminosilicate glass
b. Liquid-water solution of copolymers (or acrylic acid with maleic, tartaric, or itaconic acids) and water-soluble monomers (e.g., HEMA)

Reaction (may involve several reactions and stages of setting)

a. Glass ionomer reaction (acid-base reaction of polyacid and ions released from aluminosilicate glass particles)
- Calcium, aluminum, fluoride, and other ions released by outside of powder particle dissolving in acidic liquid
- Calcium ions initially cross-link acid functional copolymer molecules
- Calcium cross-links are replaced in 24 to 48 hours by aluminum ion cross-links, with increased hardening of system
- If there are no other reactants in the cement (e.g., resin modification), then protection from saliva is required during the first 24 hours

b. Polymerization reaction (polymerization of double bonds from water-soluble monomers and/or pendant groups on copolymer to form cross-linked matrix)
- Polymerization reaction can be initiated with chemical (self-curing) or light-curing steps
- Cross-linked polymer matrix ultimately interpenetrates glass ionomer matrix 

Manipulation

a. Mixing-powder and liquid components may be manually mixed or may be precapsulated for mechanical mixing
b. Placement-mixture is normally syringed into place
c. Finishing-can be immediate if system is resin-modified (but otherwise must be delayed 24 to 72 hours until aluminum ion replacement reaction is complete)
d. Sealing-sealer is applied to smoothen the surface (and to protect against moisture affecting the glass ionomer reaction)

Properties

1. Physical

-Good thermal and electrical insulation
-Better radiopacity than most composites
-Linear coefficient of thermal expansion and contraction is closer to tooth structure than for composites (but is less well matched for resin-modified systems)
-Aesthetics of resin-modified systems are competitive with composites

2. Chemical

-Reactive acid side groups of copolymer molecules may produce chemical bonding to tooth structure
-Fluoride ions are released
(1) Rapid release at first due to excess fluoride ions in matrix
(2) Slow release after 7  to 30 days because of slow diffusion of fluoride ions out of aluminosilicate particles

-Solubility resistance of resin-modified systems is close to that of composites

3. Mechanical properties

-Compressive strength of resin-modified systems is much better than that of traditional glass ionomers but not quite as strong as composites
- Glass ionomers are more brittle than composites

4. Biologic properties

- Ingredients are biologically kind to the pulp
- Fluoride ion release discourages secondary canes
 

Tooth Polishing and Cleansing Agents

1. Cleansing-removal of exogenous stains, pellicle, materia alba, and other oral debris without causing undue abrasion to tooth structure
2. Polishing-smoothening surfaces of amalgam, composite, glass ionomers, porcelain, and other restorative materials

Factors influencing cleaning and polishing

-    Hardness of abrasive particles versus substrate
-    Particle size of abrasive particles
-    Pressure applied during procedure
-  Temperature of abrasive materials

Structure

 Composition

-contain abrasives, such as kaolinite, silicon dioxide, calcined magnesium silicate, diatomaceous silicon dioxide, pumice. Sodium-potassium
-aluminum silicate, or zirconium silicate; some pastes also may contain sodium fluoride or stannous fluoride, but they have never been shown to produce positive effects
 

Reactions-abrasion for cleansing and polishing

Properties -  Mechanical
 
- Products with pumice and quartz produce more efficient cleansing but also generate greater abrasion of enamel and dentin
-Coarse pumice is the most abrasive
-The abrasion rate of dentin is 5 to 6 times faster than the abrasion rate of enamel, regardless of the product
-Polymeric restorative materials, such as denture bases, denture teeth, composites, PMMA veneers, and composite veneers, can be easily scratched during polishing
-Do not polish cast porcelain restorations (e.g., Dicor) that are  externally characterized or the color will be lost
 

Spruing Technique:

Direct Spruing:

The flow of the molten metal is straight(direct) from the casting crucible to pattern area in the ring. Even with the ball reservoir, the Spruing method is still direct. A basic weakness of direct Spruing is the potential for suck-back porosity at the junction of restoration and the Sprue.

Indirect Spruing:

Molten alloy does not flow directly from the casting crucible into the pattern area, instead the alloy takes a circuitous (indirect) route. The connector (or runner) bar is often used to which the wax pattern Sprue formers area attached. Indirect Spruing offers advantages such as greater reliability & predictability in casting plus enhanced control of solidification shrinkage .The Connector bar is often referred to as a “reservoir .

Armamentarium :
1 . Sprue
2 . Sticky wax
3 . Rubber crucible former
4 . Casting ring 
5 . Pattern cleaner 
6 . Scalpel blade & Forceps 
7 . Bunsen burner

Structure of gypsum products

Components
 
a. Powder (calcium sulfate hemihydrate = CaSO4½H2O)
b. Water (for reaction with powder and dispersing powder)

Components 

a. Fillers added to most to control shrinkage
b. Matrix