Effect of surface textures fabricated by two-dimensional ultrasonic vibration-assisted milling on the key surface properties of dental ceramics

The exceptionally high hardness and active plaque adhesion ability of 3Y-TZP ceramics often cause lots of oral diseases. This work intends to enhance the service performance of such ceramic dentures in human oral cavity by surface texturing technique. Efforts have been made to tackle the surface texture formation mechanism under 2D-UVAM process and establish the connection between the key surface properties and texture morphologies. The impacts of cutting parameters, vibration parameters, and tool geometry parameters on texture morphologies were rigorously studied. The coupling effect of wettability, antibacterial activity, and frictional performance of textured ceramic surfaces was also investigated. The acquired results indicate that the fish-scale texture with high density helps to enhance the hydrophobicity of the zirconia ceramics, while the wavy texture with low density promotes the ceramic material towards a hydrophilic direction. The antibacterial activity is highly related to wettability. The larger contact angle generally means the more pronounced inhibition effect on plaque adhesion. The wear of natural teeth decreases significantly after introducing textures on the ceramic surfaces, but the wear amount is not sensitive to wettability. Therefore, the hydrophobic surface can simultaneously improve the antibacterial characteristics of 3Y-TZP ceramics and its tribological compatibility with the natural teeth.