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Dental Materials Glossary

105 terms total — 24 showing — Last updated 15 Sep 2026

Sintering

Advanced Technical IVT

A high-temperature thermal process used to densify and fully crystallise pre-sintered ceramic blanks—particularly zirconia—resulting in final mechanical strength and dimensional accuracy.

Showing 1–24 of 105

Abrasion Resistance

Intermediate Technical IVT

The ability of a dental material to withstand surface loss caused by mechanical wear from opposing teeth, abrasives, or...

Technical Term Full entry →

Abutment

Intermediate Technical IVT

In fixed prosthodontics and implantology, the tooth or implant component that provides support and retention for a prost...

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Adhesive Failure

Advanced Technical IVT

A mode of bond failure in which fracture occurs at the interface between the adhesive and one of the substrates (tooth o...

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Amalgam

Basic Technical IVT

A dental restorative material composed of an alloy of mercury with other metals, traditionally silver, tin, and copper,...

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Base Metal Alloy

Intermediate Technical IVT

A category of dental casting alloy composed primarily of non-precious metals—most commonly nickel-chromium, cobalt-chrom...

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Biaxial Flexural Strength

Advanced Technical IVT

The fracture stress of a disc-shaped dental ceramic or resin specimen loaded centrally over a support circle, generating...

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Bioceramic Material

Advanced Technical IVT

A ceramic-based dental or biomedical material engineered for direct contact with biological tissues, possessing biocompa...

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Bis-Acryl Composite

Intermediate Technical IVT

A dimethacrylate-based resin material commonly used for chairside fabrication of provisional restorations, distinguished...

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Bis-GMA

Advanced Technical IVT

Bisphenol A-glycidyl methacrylate; the primary monomer used as the resin matrix in most dental composite resins and some...

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Bond Strength

Intermediate Technical IVT

A quantitative measure of the force per unit area required to separate a dental material from a substrate, typically exp...

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CAD/CAM

Basic Technical IVT

A digital workflow technology in which restorations are designed using software (CAD) and milled or 3D-printed by comput...

Abbreviation Full entry →

Camphorquinone

Advanced Technical IVT

The most common photoinitiator in visible-light-cured dental resins, absorbing maximally at approximately 468 nm in the...

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Ceramic Veneering

Intermediate Technical IVT

The technique of applying a thin layer of aesthetic porcelain to the visible surface of a metal or high-strength ceramic...

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Cerec

Intermediate Technical IVT

A proprietary chairside CAD/CAM system developed by Dentsply Sirona for the same-visit design and milling of ceramic and...

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Ceromer

Professional Technical IVT

A ceramic-optimised polymer; a tooth-coloured, resin-based veneering material containing a high ceramic filler content,...

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Coefficient of Thermal Expansion

Advanced Technical IVT

A material property expressing the rate at which a dental material expands or contracts per unit of temperature change,...

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Compomer

Intermediate Technical IVT

A polyacid-modified composite resin that combines elements of composite resin and glass ionomer chemistry, primarily use...

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Composite Resin

Basic Technical IVT

A tooth-coloured restorative material composed of a resin matrix (typically bis-GMA) reinforced with inorganic filler pa...

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Compressive Creep

Advanced Technical IVT

The time-dependent permanent deformation of a dental material under sustained compressive load, relevant to amalgam and...

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Compressive Strength

Intermediate Technical IVT

The maximum stress a dental material can sustain under axial compressive loading before fracture, reported in megapascal...

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Creep

Intermediate Technical IVT

The slow, time-dependent plastic deformation of a dental material under sustained load, particularly relevant in amalgam...

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Curing Unit

Intermediate Semi-formal IVT

A light-emitting device used in clinical dentistry to activate the photoinitiators in light-cured dental materials and i...

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Degree of Conversion

Advanced Technical IVT

The proportion of reactive carbon–carbon double bonds (C=C) within a resin monomer that have been converted to single bo...

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Dental Alloy

Intermediate Technical IVT

A metallic mixture of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, formulated for use in dental restorations...

Technical Term Full entry →
Showing 1–24 of 105

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