Abstract
The aim of this research was to investigate the wear behaviour of human tooth enamel opposing two different indirect restorative materials; heat pressable lithium disilicate glass ceramic (IPS e.max Press) and type ІІІ gold (Maxigold). The friction-wear tests were conducted under two typical wear conditions; two-body (tap-water lubrication) and three-body (food slurry composed of PMMA beads) wear with the selected parameters of 9.8N load, and ~0.2mm stroke length. The results of this study indicate that the type ІІІ gold has a lower friction coefficient and causes less wear damage on human enamel than does IPS e.max Press. Abrasive wear was the main wear mechanism for the IPS e.max Press and enamel wear pair, while adhesive wear occurred predominantly for the type ІІІ gold and enamel wear pair.