An in vitro investigation of wear resistance and hardness of composite resins

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the wear resistance and hardness of five kinds of composite resins. Materials and Methods: Sixty-five specimens were fabricated with one nano-hybrid (Charisma Diamond), two micro-hybrid (3MZ250, Clearfil AP-X) and two packable (3MP60, Surefil) composite resins, according to a randomized complete block design (n = 13, 8 for wear test; 5 for hardness test). The composites were filled in a rectangular mold, and light polymerization. After storage in 37 degrees C deionized water for 24h, all specimens were tested with a custom-made toothbrush machine with a stainless-steel ball as antagonist (3N loads, 1Hz, 6x10(5) cycles) immersed in calcium fluoride slurry. Wear volume, hardness and surface structure of each tested material was examined by a three-dimensional non-contact optical profilometer, Vickers indentation technique and scanning electron microscope. Results: The volume loss ranked from least to most as follows: Charisma Diamond, P60, Z250, Clearfil AP-X and Surefil. Regarding hardness, the rank from highest to lowest as follows: Clearfil AP-X, P60, Surefil, Z250, Charisma Diamond. The interactions between wear resistance and microhardness were not significant. Conclusions: The custom-made machine is considered suitable to simulate sliding of an antagonist cusp on an opposing occlusal composite restoration. Nanofilled composite may have superior wear compared to other composite resins.