Comparison of direct and indirect methods for analyzing wear of posterior composite restorations

The vast majority of recent clinical research involving wear analyses of posterior composite resin restorations have used either the direct evaluation method (USPHS) or the indirect cast comparison (Leinfelder) method. However, there has never been any established correlation of the two wear scales. The objective of this study was to determine the amount of wear for the USPHS alfa-bravo transition on the basis of cast comparison data. Clinical wear data were collected over five years by both the direct method and the indirect method. Three materials were used involving a total of 221 restorations in 61 patients. Each restoration was evaluated at baseline, six months, one, two, three, and five years by each method. Then, for those restorations which underwent a transition from an alfa to a bravo clinical rating, the absolute wear at the transition was determined by averaging the indirect ratings just before and just after the transition. The mean wear corresponding to the alfa-bravo transition was 192 +/- 60 microns. Because of the large width of the alfa category up to the alfa-bravo transition, extensive early changes and high initial wear rates cannot be detected by the USPHS system.