Physical properties

They are the properties that are not concerned with

the application of force
they include :
1)Optical
4)other

2) thermal

3)electrical

(1) optical properties :

color
One of the most desirable characteristics of a
restoration is a natural tissue like appearance.
In order for an object to be visible, either it must
emit light or it must reflect or transmit light
incident upon it from an external source.
Three dimensions of color:
Any color has three dimensions which are
1)The Hue
2) The Chroma 3) The Value
The Hue:
Refers to the property commonly associated
with the color of an object, whether it is red,
blue, green, etc.
The Chroma:
Refers to the strength or degree of saturation
for a particular hue

Ex: water containing one drop of blue ink is

lower in chroma than water containing ten
drops of the same blue ink. The higher the
chroma, the more vivid is the color
The Value:
Refers to the grayness of a given color
(brightness or darkness of an object)
Bright colors have high value while dull colors
have low value
Also value is the most important parameter of
color in dentistry because it is intimately related
to the vitality of teeth, dead tooth has low value
(more gray) while vital tooth has high value
Ex:
Hue ------- blue
Chroma ----- its degrees
Value ------- bright or dull
Measurement of color
( )

Munsell system
+ pic page 26
It is cylinder in which the hues are arrayed
sequentially around the perimeter of the
cylinder, while the chroma increases along a
radius out from the axis, the value coordinate
varies along the length of the cylinder from black

at the bottom to neutral grey at the center to

white at the top

Clinically color matching is usually done by the use

of the shade guides as the range of hue, chroma
and value found in the human teeth represent only
a very small portion of munsell color space, so the
human eye can make a sufficient color matching
by using the shade guides that has a small number
of shades + pic page 27
Pigmentation

Organic dye or inorganic pigments ??
inorganic pigments rather than organic dyes
are used as they are more permanent and
durable in their color qualities
The color of a pigment is seen when the
pigment absorbs all colors except that color
then reflects it to us so we see it
ex: mercuric sulfide or vermillion, is a red
pigment because it absorbs all colors except
red.
To get a tooth tissue (hard tissue) ------
shades of grey and yellow are blended into
white base material

To get pink soft tissue of the mouth which is

the gingiva ---- shades of red and white are
blended together
Ex of pigments in non-metallic materials
1)Composite resins
2)Dental acrylics
3)Silicon maxillofacial materials
4)Dental porcelain
Metamerism
Def: it is a phenomenon in which objects that
appear to be color matched under one source
of light may appear very different under
another light source

so color matching should be done under two
or more different light sources one of which is
the sun light
Fluorescence
Def: it is the emission of luminous energy by a
material when a beam of light is shone on it.
The wavelength of the emitted light usually is
longer than that of the exciting radiation
Ex : human teeth emit fluorescent light (450
nm) when excited by ultraviolet radiation (356
nm)
some dental porcelain and restorative
materials, which are used in making dentures

or crowns, are formulated with fluorescent

agents to reproduce the natural appearance of
tooth structure.
Opacity, Translucency and Transparency
Opacity : property of materials that prevent
the passage of light.
Translucency: property of a material that
permits the passage of light but disperses the
light to such an extent that objects can not be
seen through the material.
Ex: porcelain, composite resin, dental plastics
Transparency: a property of materials that
allows the passage of light in such a manner
that little distortion may take place and
objects can be seen through them

Index of refraction
Def: it is the ratio of velocity of light in vacuum
(or air) to
its velocity in the medium

A perfect match in the refractive indices
results in a transparent solid, whereas large
differences result in opaque material