Abstract. Temporary restorations more often play their role for a definitely longer period of time, than the time necessary for implementation of final prosthetic work. Therefore, they are subjected to adverse effects of chemical, physical and thermal factors in a patient's oral cavity. Since loss of temporary prosthetic work can have negative consequences for an entire treatment process, it is important to identify a potential risk of damaging temporary restorations by factors derived from the diet of patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of components of the beverages, such as coffee and tea, consumed daily by the patients, on the mechanical properties of materials used in temporary restorations. The experimental design applied, as well as gained results, were justified by appropriate, chosen statistical methods. The conducted research demonstrated the change of mechanical properties of studied materials for their flexural strength, as well as microhardness. The tendency of changes in both result variables, compared with the samples kept in neutral environment -distilled water, indicates the decrease in mechanical strength and microhardness of materials conditioned in coffee and tea. It can be claimed that the components of beverages present in an everyday diet of patients have a considerably adverse effect on the quality of materials used for provisional crowns and bridges.
BackgroundNew possibilities of prosthetic treatment sometimes require fixed temporary restorations to be used for longer than the time needed to prepare a final restoration.During treatment, patients expect temporary restorations to be esthetic and comfortable thus, the requirements for temporary restorations are almost identical with those set up for final restorations [1]. Additionally, apart from being esthetic, temporary restorations must meet several conditions -protection of a living dental pulp against chemical, thermal and mechanical factors, assurance of stable occlusion, continuity of functions of stomatognathic system and support for soft tissues [2].Currently, on the market, there are many materials for temporary prosthetic restorations. These are mainly materials based on acrylic mass or composite materials, and they can meet requirements for temporary restorations to a different extent.A prosthesis in the oral cavity is constantly prone to mechanical, chemical and thermal factors deriving from the diet of patients. These factors can considerably influence mechanical and esthetic properties of prepared crowns and bridges [3]. A human should drink approximately 2-3 liters of liquids. The type of liquid depends on the age and individual patient's preferences.The adults, who constitute the majority of patients treated prosthetically, most often drink coffee and tea. These beverages can have a crucial impact on mechanical and esthetic properties of temporary and final restorations.The materials for temporary restorations can change their mechanical and esthetic properties. Diaz-Arnold et al. found that the ...