Minimizing enamel wear is one of the main objectives when selecting a restorative material. Objective: To evaluate enamel wear of a Gold alloy and three ceramic substrates in the glazed and polished conditions. Methods: Twenty disk samples of Finesse (Fin), All-Ceram (Alc), and IPS-Empress (Emp) were prepared and glazed. A Type III Gold alloy was used as a control. Each group of 20 was divided into groups of 10. The surfaces of one group (10) were ground and polished, the other was left glazed. Seventy human cusps were prepared and abraded against the substrates. The cusp heights were traced before and after the test using a profile projector to determine height loss. Results: ANOVA and Schefffe (P=0.05) tests showed.
| Material & Cond | N | Mean(mm) ±SD | Mean(mm) ±SD | Mean(mm) ±SD |
| Gold | 10 | 0.114 ±0.064 | ||
| Finesse, Pol | 10 | 0.6370±0.23 | 0.637±0.23 | |
| All-Ceram, Pol | 10 | 0.765± 0.39 | 0.765± 0.39 | 0.975± 0.24 |
| IPS-Empress Pol | 10 | 0.975± 0.246 | 1.052± 0.29 | |
| Finesse, Glz | 10 | 1.052± 0.29 | 1.154± 0.70 | |
| IPS-Empress Glz | 10 | 1.154± 0.70 | 1.518± 0.57 |
Comparison of ceramic substrates revealed that mean enamel height loss was greatest with glazed Emp, and lowest with polished Fin and Alc. Conclusion: Polished Fin and polished Alc caused the least amount of enamel wear and were not significantly different than Gold.