INFLUENCE OF FILLER PARAMETERS ON THE MECHANICAL COHERENCE OF DENTAL RESTORATIVE RESIN COMPOSITES

Next to the presence of (chemical) coupling between filler and resin, filler particle size is important for the mechanical coherence of dent al resin composites which are used for posterior restorations. In the range of the current composites a smaller particle size is desirable. The better mechanical coherence for composites with smaller particles found in an in vitro erosive wear test is probably related to the size of food fibres, which are part of the erosive medium. It appears that there is a critical value of the filler particle size (1.3-1.5 mu m), under which the food fibres are not able to penetrate in the interpar ticle space, so the erosive capability of the erosive medium will be r educed.