Strength and fatigue performance versus filler fraction of different types of direct dental restoratives.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the mechanical properties, such as Young's moduli, fracture strengths (FS), and flexural fatigue limits of todays resin composite dental restoratives. All materials have been subdivided into flowable, aesthetic hybrid and nano-filled hybrid composites as marketed by dental manufacturers and analyzed in terms of the actual filler configurations. Specimen bars have been manufactured in reference to ISO 4049 standard, light-cured for 20 s, and stored in distilled water before testing. The elastic moduli (EM), FS, and flexural fatigue limits (FFL) were measured after 14 days storage by using the four-point bending test. The FFL was determined for 10(4) cycles. The fatigue data were analyzed by using the "staircase" approach and statistically treated by ANOVA analysis. Flowable materials with a reduced filler content exhibited the lowest Young's moduli, compared with those measured for higher filled materials. A linear relationship has been found between elastic moduli and filler loading (r(2) = 0.798). Correlations of FS and fatigue data to different filler fractions could not be proved. FS ranged between 61.3 and 124.9 MPa. After 10(4) cycles of fatigue loading, the FS suffered from a decrease between 45.2 and 61.7%. However, materials providing high initial strengths do not obviously reveal the best fatigue resistance. A marketing-based grouping of direct restorative materials has no meaning toward laboratory testing of mechanical properties.