Influences of filler content and size on the color adjustment potential of nonlayered resin composites.

The blending effect (BE) plays an important role in esthetics of the composite resin. The objective of this study was to determine the extents to which filler size and content affect the BE. Three types of fillers (0.7, 1.0, and 1.5 µm) were mixed at weight contents of 60, 70, 75, and 80%. This study simulated clinical class 3 or 4 cavities and quantitatively measured the color diffusion of the objects next to the cavities based on the CIELab color space. For each filler size, there was a trend of increasing BE as the filler content was increased. The translucency parameter (TP) exhibited the opposite trend of decreasing (p<0.05) with increases in filler content. The filler size did not affect the BE, and the different filler sizes produced statistically non-significant results in this study. Increases in filler content elevated the opacity of the composite resin and significantly influenced the BE.