Characterization of third-body media particles and their effect on in vitro composite wear

The purpose of this study was to compare four medium particles currently used for in vitro composite wear testing (glass and PMMA beads and millet and poppy seeds).

Particles were prepared as described in previous wear studies. Hardness of medium particles was measured with a nano-indentor, particle size was measured with a particle size analyzer, and the particle form was determined with light microscopy and image analysis software. Composite wear was measured using each type of medium and water in the Alabama wear testing device. Four dental composites were compared: a hybrid (Z100), flowable microhybrid (Estelite Flow Quick), micromatrix (Esthet-X), and nano-filled (Filtek Supreme Plus). The test ran for 100,000 cycles at 1.2 Hz with 70 N force by a steel antagonist. Volumetric wear was measured by non-contact profilometry. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's test was used to compare both materials and media.

Hardness values (GPa) of the particles are (glass, millet, PMMA, and poppy, respectively): 1.310(0.150), 0.279(0.170), 0.279(0.095), and 0.226(0.146). Average particle sizes (μm) are (glass, millet, PMMA, and poppy, respectively): 88.35(8.24), 8.07(4.05), 28.95(8.74), and 14.08(7.20). Glass and PMMA beads were considerably more round than the seeds. During composite wear testing, glass was the only medium that produced more wear than the use of water alone. The rank ordering of the materials varied with each medium, however, the glass and PMMA bead medium allowed better discrimination between materials.

PMMA beads are a practical and relevant choice for composite wear testing because they demonstrate similar physical properties as seeds but reduce the variability of wear measurements.