Progressive Tooth Wear Against Resin-Based Restorative Composites

The composition and properties of resin-based composite materials could affect tooth wear and lead to clinical problems. Therefore, the study objective was to characterize human tooth wear behavior against a bulk-fill restorative (BF) compared to a conventional resin composite (RC) and a CAD/CAM resin nano ceramic (RN).

Square-shaped specimens of each material were prepared and sub-divided according to the number of testing cycles (n=8): 100,000, 250,000, and 500,000 cycles. An occlusal wear test was performed using a chewing machine with 49 N, 2 Hz, in 37°C distilled water. Human premolar cusps were used as antagonists. Micro-CT and laser scanner were used to scan antagonists and specimens, respectively. Wear volume was assessed using a software and the wear pattern was examined with SEM. Softening in solvent analysis was performed by measuring the materials' Knoop microhardness (KHN) before and after immersion in ethanol. Wear volume data were analyzed with two-way ANOVA and Student-Neuman-Keuls test (α=0.05).

For tooth and specimen wear volume, there was statistical significance for material and number of cycles, but not for the interaction between factors. BF resulted in less tooth (p=0.008) and specimen (p=0.030) wear than RN and RC, which were similar (p⟩0.05). Volume loss increased from 100,000 to 500,000 cycles. BF showed the lowest microhardness (KHN1); and %ΔKHN similar to RC, but greater than RN.

BF induced less volume loss to the tooth than RC and RN, while presenting greater wear resistance. The tooth wear pattern and damage progression were mild for all materials.

Resin composites show favorable wear behavior, leading to low volume loss and mild structural damage of the tooth. Regular bulk-fill resin composite stands out for its efficient restorative technique, low wear susceptibility and reduced capacity to wear down the tooth.