STRUCTURE AND

BEHAVIOUR OF MATTER
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
INTRODUCTION
• Dentistry includes the applications
of various dental materials. Clinical
dentistry depends upon the
properties, method of
manipulation and use of various
dental materials.

• Physical properties determine how

materials respond to changes in
the environments
• Many materials used in dentistry are supplied as
two or more components which are mixed
together and undergo a chemical reaction, during
which the mechanical and physical properties RHEOLOGY
may change dramatically.

ELECTRO
CHEMICAL PHYSICAL COLOR
PROPERIES PROPERTIES SCIENCE
A property that can be observed or measured
without changing the identity of the material

THERMAL
PROPERTIES
 STRESS &
STRAIN

HARDNESS &
FRACTURE
TOUGHNESS

MECHANICAL
PROPERTIES
STRENGTH
FLEXURAL
TENSIL
COMPREESIVE

ELASTIC
PROPERTIES
MECHANICAL

• Definition : “ Mechanical properties are defined by the laws of

mechanics that is physical science that deals with energy and
forces and their effects on bodies.”

• Mechanical properties are measures of resistance of a material to

deformation or fracture under an applied force.

• The main source of deformation of any intra-oral prosthesis/restoration

is mainly due to masticatory forces.
 STRESS
• Stress: When an external force is applied to a body or specimen of material under
test, an internal force, equal in magnitude but opposite in direction, is set up in the
body
• Internal resistance of body to external force.
• The internal reaction is equal in magnitude & opposite in direction to applied
external force. stress=force/area
• SI unit- Pascal Types of stress :
• individually applied forces can be axial,shear,bending or torsional
 Tensile stress- two sets of forces directed away from each other in same straight
line.

• Tensile and compressive stresses, along with shear, are the three simple examples of
stress which form the basis of all other more complex stress patterns.
• Compressive stress-
two sets of force towards each other in same straight line

• Shear stress-
two force parallel to each other but not along the same straight line

Torsion-
results from twisting of a body
 Flexure-bending stress
Example of flexural stress that is produced in a three
unit bridge or a two unit cantilever bridge.
• • It is produced by bending forces in dental appliances
in one of two ways
STRAIN
• strain is important consideration in dental restorative materials such
as implant screws in which large amt of strain can occur before failure
& also in impression materials where materials need to recover
without permanent distortion when removing it from hard tissue
undercut.
• STRAIN = CHANGE IN LENGTH
• ORGINAL LENGTH
Stress-strain relationship
• Stress and strain, as defined in the previous sections, are not independent and
unrelated properties, but are closely related and may be seen as an example of cause
and effect. The application of an external force, producing a stress within a material,
results in a change in dimension or strain within the body.
PROPORTIONAL LIMIT
• As stress is increased, strain is increased.
• In curve 0-A ,stress is linearly proportional to strain. As strain is
doubled ,the stress is also doubled.after point A,stress is no longer
linearly proportional to strain. hence the value of stess at A is known
as proportional limit .
 ELASTIC LIMIT
• The Elastic limit is defined as max stress that a material
will withstand without permanent deformation. For
linearly elastic materials,the proportional limit & elastic
limit represent same stress & often interchangeably used
exception is superelastic in which one deals with
proportionality of strain to stress in the structure,whereas
other describes elastic behavior of material.
YIELD STRENGTH [ PROOF STRESS]
• The yield strength of a material is a property that can be determined
readily and is often used to describe the stress at which the material
begins to function in a plastic manner.
• The yield strength is defined as the stress at which a material deforms
plastically and there is a defined amount of permanent strain
• FRACTURE STRENGTH
• point E- The stress at which a brittle material fractures is called the
fracture strength or fracture stress.
ELONGATION
• The deformation that results from the application of a tensile force is
elongation. Total elongation is commonly expressed as a percentage.
The percent elongation is calculated as follows:
% Elongation = (Increase in length / Original length) × 100%
• The total percent elongation includes both the elastic elongation and
the plastic elongation.
 ELASTIC MODULUS [ YOUNGS
MODULUS]
The measure of elasticity of a material is
Described by the term elastic modulus

• represents the stiffness of a material within

the elastic range.
• Elastic modulus =Stress / Strain
• This equation is also known as ‘Hooks law.’
POISSON’S RATIO
• During axial loading in tension or compression there is a simultaneous strain
in the axial & transverse or lateral direction.
• under tensile loading -material elongates - there is reduction in cross section
known as necking.
• compressive loading- increase in cross section
• within elastic range, ratio of lateral to axial strain - poisson’s ratio(v)
FLEXIBILITY
• Flexibility is defined as the flexural strain that occurs when the
material is stressed to its proportional limit OR The strain associated
with the stress at the elastic limit is called maximum flexibility
RESILIENCE
• Resilience is the resistance of a
material to permanent
deformation. It indicates the
amount of energy necessary to
deform the material to the
proportional limit.

• Resilience is therefore measured

by the area under the elastic
portion of the stress-strain curve
TOUGHNESS
• Toughness, which is the resistance of a material to fracture, is an
indication of the amount of energy necessary to cause fracture.
FRACTURE TOUGHNESS
• Fracture mechanics characterizes the behavior of material with crack
sudden fractures can arise at stresses below the yield stress.
• typically occur in brittle materials that do not have the ability to
plastically deform and redistribute stresses.
DUCTILITY & MALLEABILITY
• The ductility of a material
represents its ability to be
drawn & shaped into wire by
means of tension.

• The malleability of a substance

represents its ability to be
hammered or rolled into thin
sheets without fracturing.
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
• When an object is tested in
compression, failure might occur
as a result of complex stresses in
the object.
• The forces of compression applied
to each end of the specimen are
resolved into forces of shear along
a cone-shaped area at each end
and, as a result of the action of the
two cones on the cylinder, into
tensile forces in the central
portion of the mass.
SHEAR STRENGTH
• The shear strength is the
maximum stress that a material
can withstand before failure in
a shear mode of loading.
• Testing shear strength is the
punch or push-out method, in
which an axial load is applied to
push one material through
another.
FATIGUE STRENGTH
• Fatigue is defined as a progressive fracture under repeated loading.
Fatigue tests are performed by subjecting a specimen to alternating
stress applications below the yield strength until fracture occurs.
• For some materials, a stress at which the specimen can be loaded an
infinite number of times without failing. This stress is called the
endurance limit.
TEAR STRENGTH
• Tear strength is a measure of the resistance of a material to tearing
forces.used in thin sections, such as flexible impression materials in
interproximal areas, maxillofacial materials, and soft liners for
dentures.
• The unit of tear strength is N/m.
• Tear strength depends on the rate of loading.
HARDNESS
• Hardness testing is done by applying a standardized force or weight to
an indenter. This produces a symmetrically shaped indentation that
can be measured under a microscope for depth, area, or width of the
indentation produced.

• Brinells’s hardness test Vicker’s hardness test

• Rockwell test Knoop hardness test

 BARCOL HARDNESS TEST
• The Barcol hardness test is one method
used to study the depth of cure of resin
composites.
• The Barcol indenter is a spring-loaded
needle with a diameter of 1 mm that is
pressed against the surface to be tested.
The reading on the scale decreases as the
indenter penetrates the surface.
• The Barcol hardness of the top surface is
compared with that of the bottom surface.
• VICKERS HARDNESS TEST (VHN)
• This is also similar to the Brinell test, however instead of a steel ball, a diamond
• in the shape of a square pyramid is used. Although the impression is square instead
• of round. The load is divided by the area of indentation. The length of the diagonals
• of the indentation (sides of the diamond) are measured and averaged.

• KNOOP HARDNESS TEST (KHN)

• A diamond indenting tool is used. Knoop hardness values is independent of the
• ductility of the material and values for both exceedingly hard and soft materials
• can be obtained from this test.
• The Knoop and Vickers tests are classified as microhardness tests. The Brinell
• and Rockwell tests are classified as macrohardness tests
 RHEOLOGY

• Rheology is the study of flow of matter. In dentistry, study of rheology is necessary because
many dental materials are liquids at some stage of their use, e.g., molten alloy and freshly
mixed impression materials and cements. Other materials appear to be solids but flow over
a period of time.

• IMPORTANT TERMS AND PROPERTIES IN RHEOLOGY

• Viscosity
• Viscosity is the resistance offered by a liquid when placed in motion, e.g., honey is more
viscous than water. It is measured in poise or centipoise
• Creep
• Time dependent plastic deformation or change of shape that occurs when a metal is
subjected to a constant load near its melting point is known as creep. This may be static or
dynamic in nature
• Flow
• It is somewhat similar to creep. In dentistry, the term flow is used instead of creep to
describe rheology of amorphous substances, e.g., waxes. Although creep or flow may be
measured under any type of stress, compression is usually employed for testing of dental
materials
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
• Absorption is defined as the uptake of fluid by the bulk solid.
Adsorption refers to the concentration of molecules at the surface of
a solid or liquid. Water Sorption is the term used when some material
absorbs water.
• ELECTROCHEMICAL PROPERTIES
• Tarnish Surface discoloration or change in luster
• CorrosionDeterioration of a metal due to reaction with the
environment
CHEMICAL CORROSION
•Direct combination of
metal and non metal
components to yield
chemical compound.
•This is also called as
Dry corrosion.
•e.g. oxidation of silver-
copper alloy particles
med with mercury to
prepare dental amalgam
 Rheological properties
• Most dental materials exhibit resistance during flow under shear
stress= Viscosity Liquid to solid transformation.
Viscosity =
 • FLOW:
• Flow is deformation under static load before the material has
completely hardened.
• Significance: For recording fine details of the oral cavity

Newtonian flow A fluid demonstrates a linear relationship between

shear stress and shear rate, it exhibits a constant value of viscosity.
Such a fluid is known as Newtonian in behaviour. ex-water

Pseudoplastic flow Shows a decrease in viscosity with increasing Strain rate until it reaches a nearly constant such
behaviour is called a Pseudoplastic.
Example:- Gypsum material, Fluoride gels
THERMAL PROPERTIES
• Thermal diffusivity indicates the speed with which the temperature
change will spread through an object when one surface is heated.
Thermal diffusivity of human tooth is low, therefore reduces thermal shock
and pulpal pain.
• Coefficient of thermal expansion:
• The linear coefficient of Thermal Expansion is defined as the fractional
increase in the length of a body for each degree centigrade increase in
temperature.
• Unit:- parts per million per degree centigrade (ppm/°c)
• Significance:- Dimensional changes in the elastomer are due to the
High coefficient of Thermal Expansion.
• Optical properties:
Color & color perception- Color is a sensory perception
that may be defined as the physiological response to a
physical stimulus.
Hue refers to the dominant color of the object. It
depends on 3 Primary color Red, Blue, and Green.
Chroma represents the degree of saturation of a
particular hue.
Value is the relative lightness or darkness of a
particular color which can be measured independent
of Hue
• Measurement of colour can be done by
several color measuring systems such as:
• 1. The Munsell (a visual system): is a
coordinate system -It defines colour
quantitatively.
• 2. The CIE color system (Commission
Internationale de l’eclairage)
METAMERISM
• Phenomenon in which the color of an object under one type of
light source appears to change when illuminated by a
different light source
COLOUR MATCHING
• The individual shade tabs shown in the top row are grouped
according to hue (A, B, C, and D, where A = red-brown, B = red-yellow,
C = gray, D = red-gray), followed by value (1 to 4, or lightest to darkest)
Color measurement:
• Spectrophotometers:
• It measure the amount of light reflected at each wavelength.
• It has been used to evaluate the color parameters for restorative resins,
denture teeth, porcelains, etc.

• Colorimeters:
• It measure the amount of light reflected at selected color.
• But it can be extremely inaccurate when used on rough or curved surfaces.
• To over come that photcolorimetry method is used.

• A new approach tooth shade selection is the use of photography in

combination with a spectrophotometer.
• Opacity is defined as the property of the material that prevents the passage of light. It is the
material that does not transmit light but instead absorbs light or reflects or scatters from the
surface
• Translucency is defined as the property of the material that permits the passage of light but
disperses the light to such an extent that the object cannot be seen
• example- Porcelain, Dental Resin
• Transparency is defined as the property of the material that permits the passage of light in
such a manner that little distortion takes place and objects are clearly seen through them
• FLUORESCENCE
• Natural tooth structure also absorbs light of wavelengths which are too short to be
visible to the human eye. These wavelengths between 300 to 400 nm are referred as
near ultraviolet. Natural sunlight, photoflash lamps, certain types of vapor lamps and
the ultraviolet lights used in decorative lighting are all sources containing substantial
amounts of near U-V radiation and invisible U-V light.
• CLINICAL CONSIDERATIONS
• Esthetics play a very important role in modern dental treatment. The ideal restorative
material should match the color of the tooth it restores. In maxillofacial prosthetics the
color of the gums, external skin and the eyes have to be duplicated
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