Influence of Chemicals on Wear of Dental Composites

Abstract

The wear resistance of a commercial dental restorative composite exposed to different chemicals was measured with a pin-disc apparatus. The initial wear rate increased dramatically once the composite had been immersed in chemicals known to soften the cross-linked matrix material, which is a copolymer derived from BIS-GMA and diluent monomer. The increase of wear rate in a chemically softened composite was found to persist over a depth beyond 160 μm for specimens immersed over two wk prior to wear testing.