Correlation between in vitro and in vivo wear of posterior restorative materials

The occlusal wear resistance of 24 commerically available restorative resins and of Dispersalloy was simulated by loading in a wear machine. The abrasive used was an aqueous slurry of poppy seed, continuously flowing between rotating specimen and abrading wheels. Ranking of the results seems to be in agreement with clinical experience. The linear relationship between in vitro wear figures and long-term quantitative in vivo wear data of the 8 materials previously studied by Lambrechts and Braem indicates that the wear test used may offer a reasonable prediction of clinical abrasion and attrition. A comparison by SEM of the in vitro with the in vivo wear patterns revealed morphological similarity.