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Lithium disilicate glass-ceramics (LS2 GC) are widely used as dental prosthetics and dental restorations. Based LS2 GC have hardness and translucency similar to that of natural teeth. This study aims to investigate the tribological features of LS2 GC with crystalline volume fraction of 64% and different crystal sizes from 8 µm to 34 µm for different counterparts.

The tribological behavior was investigated using a pin-on-disc tribometer with alumina and tungsten carbide (WC) spheres, applied load of 5 N and sliding speed of 5 cm/s at normal conditions. The coefficient of friction was measured continuously up to 10,000 sliding cycles. The specific wear rate was calculated from tribological and profile measurements. The wear mechanism was investigated by surface morphology analysis.

The coefficient of friction during running-in varied from 0.8 to 1.0 for the alumina counterpart, because of severe wear. Afterwards, it reduced and reached a stationary regime, characterized by a mild wear regime and the formation of a tribolayer formed by the debris. For the WC counterpart, the coefficient of friction curves increased initially with sliding cycles up to a stationary regime. The samples tested against WC presented the lowest specific wear rate (k), and no variation of wear rate with crystal size was observed. For samples tested against the alumina, crystallization and crystal size increased the wear resistance.

This study evaluated the effect of different counterfaces on the tribological properties of the LS2 GC, an important glass-ceramic base for many dental prosthetics and dental restorations, discussing results in light of the contact mechanics. Different specific wear rates, wear regimes and dependence on the glass-ceramic microstructure were observed depending on the counterpart.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-08-2019-0352/