Relative wear of flowable and highly filled composite

By decreasing the proportion of filler, flowable composites are easy to adapt to small cavity preparations. However, the wear resistance of flowable composites is a clinical concern, as improved wear has been related to increased filler percentage. The purpose of this study was to compare wear for flowable composites and comparable heavily filled materials. Wear by attrition and abrasion (μm) of microfilled flowable (Heliomolar Flow) and heavily filled microfill (Heliomolar HB) was measured and compared to a microhybrid flowable (Tetric Flow) and a heavily filled microhybrid (Tetric HB). There were 5 specimens, 2 mm thick and 15 mm in diameter, in each group. The Oregon Health Sciences University oral wear simulator was used to produce abrasive wear and attrition for all specimens. Abrasion and attrition of the substrates were measured using a profilometer. Data were subjected to a 3-way analysis of variance for the 3 main factors: composite type, filler load, and wear type (α=.05) Composite wear rates were significantly influenced ( P