Two-Body Wear of Dental Composites Under Different Loads

Purpose: Although dental composites are excellent for restoring the appearance of natural tooth tissues, their relatively poor resistance to wear, especially in approximal and occlusal contact areas, is still a major source of concern. The aim of this research was to study a basic wear mechanism, under 2-body wear conditions, that may be integrated into our understanding of the in vitro and in vivo wear behavior of dental composites. Materials and Methods: An in vitro 2-body wear test was conducted on 2 selected ultrafine compact-filled dental composites under different magnitudes of sinusoidal cyclic load. The wear surfaces and cross sections of the wear layers were assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to explore the nature of the wear pattern of the dental composites under cyclic loading conditions. Results: The wear losses of both composites increased with load. SEM analysis of wear surfaces and subsurface sections indicated that the composites tested displayed different wear mechanisms from low to high loads. An explanation for the wear pattern is proposed based on the observed wear behavior. Conclusion: The in vitro wear pattern of the ultrafine compact-filled dental composites tested is closely related to the applied load. Although the wear loss increased in a roughly linear relationship with applied load, the underlying wear mechanism involved may experience a significant change from low to high load conditions during wear.