CASTING TECHNIQUES

ZACK KASLOFF,

AND SOME VARIPIBLES

D.D.S., M.S.D."

University of Manitoba, Faculty of Dentistry, Winnzpeg, Man.

have received wide attention by many investigators. To fulfill the requirements for an ideal restoration, a casting must !)e made to fit the prepared tooth intimately. Although the goal of perfect reproducrion is an ideal for which we strive, it should be :recognized that for all practical uurposes we can only hope to approach it. Much has been learned about the principles involved in casting, and probably as many techniques for this procedure have been brought forth through the years as there were people who directed their attention to this problem. Claims have been made that one or another of the methods advocated would produce superior results. This study was therefore undertaken to evaluate several popular casting techniques and to determine if reproducible results could be achieved with these recommended procedures.
METHODS AND MATERIALS

ASTING PROCEDURES IN DENTISTRY

T:he selection of different techniques and variations used in this preliminary study is outlined in Table I. The casting machines used were selected to represent rhe different casting forces which are commonly used today. Investment materials utilized were carefully weighed according to manufacturers directions, and dis:illed water was used throughout the mixing procedure. Vacuum investing of all wax patterns was employed after they were cleaned with a commercial wax cleaner, and a surface tension-reducing agent was applied to avoid trapping of air bubbles on the surface of the pattern. In all instances, the wax patterns were positioned in :he center of the ring and approximately g inch from the encl. Two moist asbestos jiners were used in each instance, except in the added water technique which utilizes a special ring, rubber liner, and extension ring as described by Peyt0n.l
YURNOUTPROCEDURE

The burnout procedure employed was governed by the specific investment material and technique used. With quartz material or cristobalite where the thermal expansion principle was used, the mold was heated for 1 hour to 1,250 F. prior to casting. The hygroscopic water bath technique utilized a 100 F. water bath for the setting investment for a period of 30 minutes, after which time the mold was slowly
This study was done at the Indiana University, Graduate School of Dentistry. Read before the American Academy of Crown and Bridge Prosthodontics in Chicago, *Associate Professor and Head, Section of Crown and Bridge and Dental Materials. 533 111.

534

KASLOFF

J. Pros. Den. May-June, 1961

heated for 1 hour to 1,000 F. and then cast. The same temperature was used for the added water technique since the hygroscopic principle is common to both. A special experimental cristobalite investment having a low setting expansion value was heated up to the same temperature as the regular cristobalite, 1,250 F. Th,e models used were Bureau of Standards type MOD and full crown steel dies as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A close-fitting brass sleeve and cap, when fitted over the die, were held together with firm sustained pressure while the wax was adapted to the die. This pressure was obtained by using the force of a spring clip, one jaw engaging the cap end of the assembly and the other end exerting pressure on the base of the die. Fig. 3 illustrates the spring clip, sleeve, and cap. All wax patterns were formled by using molten inlay casting wax which was poured into the previously lubricated and warmed die and collar assembly. The spring force was

Fig. I.-The

mesio-occlusal-distal

steel die and wax pattern.

applied and maintained for 10 minutes before separation to minimize strain in the wax. The greatest number of specimens were of the MOD type, and a 10 gauge sprue was used on the pattern for attachment to the sprue base. The full crown pattern was formed only in the last part of the investigation by use of vertical centrifugal force, and here a 14 gauge wax sprue of a corkscrew design was employed to determine whether a pattern of this magnitude could be cast with accuracy through such a tortuous and narrow opening. Befcre the wax patterns were removed from the die, they were examined under a binocular microscope to check marginal adaptation. The investing procedure was carried out immediately after the pattern was removed from the die. In the casting operation, the gold? was melted in the castmg crucible with the reducing zcne of a gas and air blowpipe using a flux consisting of 50 per cent boric acid powder and 50 per cent powdered borax to protect the metal from contamination and to aid in its fluidity. At the conclusion of the casting procedure, the rings were allowed to bench cool until the evidence of redness disappeared from the button of gold, following which quenching in water was done. The recovered castings were heated in a pick*Ransom and Randolph INey B-2. 301-D.

CASTING

TECHNIQUES

AND

SOME

VARIABLES

535

Fig.

2.-The

full

crcwn

steel

die

and

wax

pattern.

hng casserole containing 50 per cent sulfuric acid to remove surface oxides and debris and neutralized by washing under running water. The resultant castings were then carefully examined under the microscope for possible interfering nodules or imperfections before attempting to seat them on the die. A total of thirty castings was marde, three for each of the first nine categories, two for the second last, and one for the last.
RESULTS AND OBSERVATIONS

In every category, it was possible to obtain goad, clinically acceptable castings. In the categories for which three samples of each were made, none fitted the die with the same measure of precision. Any given casting force or investment or technique did not appear to produce results which were superior to another. The use of sprues of adequate size to assist gold in filling a mold rapidly and completely is a sound ,procedure, ,yet a completely formed sharp casting could be obtained where a thin tortuous sprue was used. The position of the sprue in relation to the wax pattern affected the resulting fit of the casting to the die, as did a variation in the amount. of water added to the setting investment in the controlled added water technique. It becomes clearly evident that in dealing with a pattern medium such as wax, problems of distortion resulting from manipulation and temperature changes influence the degree of accuracy of the cast restoration. Whereas uniformity of dimension and thickness of the wax pattern is possible on an experimental die, clinical

Fig.

3.-The

spring

clip,

sleeve,

and

cap

used

for

adaptation

of

the

wax

to

the

die.

536
TABLE 1.

KASLOFF
TECHNIQUES AKD VAXATIONS

J. Pros. Den. May-June, 1961

CASTING TECHNIQUES

INVESTMENTMATERIAL

LINERS

TyPE OF SPRUE

AMOUXTOF WATER (ML.)

Whip-Mix thermal

Beauty

Cast Center 301-D Center Center Proximal Center Special ring, rubber liner, and aextension ring Center Center Center Proximal 1.1 1.2 1.3 13

Ransom and Randolph cristobalite thermal Kerr cristobalite

Beauty Cast

thermal

hygroscopic

water bath Horizonl.al centrifugal Peytons added water hygroscopic; Whip-Mix Hygrotrol Hygroscopic water bath

\-ertical centrifugal and vacuum

Cristobalite thermal (full crown)

14 gauge

cavity preparations and wax patterns seldom, if ever, approach such ideal conditions. The distortions thus produced further complicate the problems inherent with wax and make the possibility of obtaining accurate cast reproductions more difficult.

A very limited study of some casting procedures and techniques was made to try to evaluate these on the basis of reproducibility and superiority. Based on this limited number of samples, it was found that simple techniques or procedures were as capable of producing clinically acceptable dental castings as were more complicated ones. This observation applied equally to materials and casting forces. This study will be expanded to include a larger number of samples and other variables as well as to compare by measurement the amount of variation that exists between samples under a given set of conditions. Sound fundamental principles associated with all aspects of casting must be adhered to, regardless of techniques or materials used. This study should be regarded as a preliminary report.
REFEREKCE

1. Peyton,

F. A., Mahler, D. B., and Asgar, K.: Controlled Water-Addition Technic for Hygroscopic Expansion of Dental Casting Inve,stment, J.A.D.A. 52:155-161, 1956.

EKIVERSITYOF MANITOBA FACULTY OF DENTISTRY WINNIPEG 3, MAIV.