Early compressive strength and phase-formation of dental amalgam.

The compressive strength of five different amalgams was measured at one hour, six hours, 24 hours, and seven days, and X-ray diffraction analysis was carried out for each amalgam at the same times in order to investigate the early strength characteristics of the amalgams in relation to the formation of different phases. At 24 hours all tested amalgams reached about 90% or more of their seven-day compressive strength, but the increase in the early compressive strength from one hour to 24 hours varied between different amalgams. Two of the five amalgams tested reached about 90% of their seven-day compressive strength at six hours. A significant correlation was found between the ratio of early compressive strength to seven-day compressive strength, and the X-ray diffraction intensity ratio (ratios of one-, six- and 24 hour intensity to seven-day intensity) for the gamma 1 phase, indicating that the increases in early compressive strength are mainly dependent upon the formation of gamma 1.