Hardness and Nano-indentation

Abstract

The assessment of the mechanical properties of dental materials is vital for developing successful materials used in dentistry. These include hardness which has been used to predict the wear resistance of a material against applied forces such as occlusal loading. Hardness tests has taken many forms to accommodate the different materials’ natures and behaviors. Efforts have been made to understand the relationship between hardness and other physical properties such as yield strength and elastic modulus. With the development of nano-based dental materials, it became important to establish indentation tests on the nanometer scale, known as nanoindentation tests. Nanoindentation is one of the most precise ways of determining and comparing the mechanical properties of restorative materials.