[Fluorescence of dental porcelain: material and methods]

Dental porcelain emits some fluorescence under the action of ultra-violet rays. This emission may be at the origin of errors in the choice of the colour of a crown. In order to study this fluorescence phenomenon, the following experimental protocol has been developed: 363.8 nm exciting radiation isolated from the emission by an Argon laser; Fluorescence emitted by the sample and dispersed via a spectrometer, protected by a stop-U.V. filter; Influx collected by a photomultiplier, then directed, after passage in a picoamperemeter, toward a mini-computer programmed to print the spectra; Correction of the spectra by a tungsten lamp used at the 2,600 K colour temperature; Use of reference spectra. On the same graph, the sample spectra are represented in solid lines, while the spectrum of the enamel used as a reference is shown as a dotted line. The results show that: Enamel has a fluorescence spectrum which has the shape of a wide band, with a maximum of 450 nm (characteristic of a blue-green shade) and a slow decrease up to 680 nm. The enamel fluorescence does not depend on the colour of the tooth; Dentine has a distribution spectrum which is similar to that of enamel but is three times fuller; The spectra of the ceramic samples reveal: a wide band due to transition metals, fine lines due to rare earth (terbium and europium). When the saturation degree of the ceramic increases, its fluorescence colour varies due to the relative increase in the amplitude of the lines in relation to the bands. Thus, when the sample colour progresses from B1 to B4, its fluorescence colour becomes greener.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)