Failure and behavior in water of hydroxyapatite whisker-reinforced bis-GMA-based resin composites

Failure mode under Hertzian indentation and the behavior on immersion in water of bis-GMA-based composites with HA whiskers or nanoscopic HA powder as filler were evaluated. Failure load decreased with increase in filler loading, but the decrease was smaller for whiskers, which showed a different failure mode both macroscopically and microscopically. Particle-filled composites failed mainly by radial cracking and cone cracking, with some plastic deformation at low filler loading, with fracture into irregular segments. For whisker-filled materials, crack propagation was inhibited by the well-dispersed whiskers by the usual toughening mechanisms; cone cracking was the dominant failure mode, at higher loads than for the powder, and fracture was incomplete. The filler reduced both water-uptake and elution of soluble materials, as expected, but both were lower for the whisker-filled material. Such composites might form the basis of viable materials for dental load-bearing restorations and other applications.