Clinical relevance of laboratory fatigue studies

From a clinical point of view, fatigue in dental restorative resins is discussed by the way that fatigue expresses itself in different forms in these materials. In vitro testing of the fatigue sensitivity of dental composites is far from conclusive: there is a need for standardized testing methodology. Some findings obtained with a recently developed fatigue machine, and interpreted as a function of masticatory stresses, indicate that the generalized form of fatigue will probably be limited to microfilled based composites.