A comparison of fracture strength of posterior composite and ceramic inlay materials

Abstract EN

Background : Patient demands for nonmetallic restorations have increased for esthetic reasons in posterior teeth, especially due to the questionable biocompatibility of mercury-containing amalgam alloys.

This study compared the fracture strength of four different posterior inlay materials.

Materials and Methods : Four types of inlay material were tested (Herculite XRV™, Nulite F®, Fibrespan®, and In- Ceram®).

The specimens were distributed into four groups, each group contained ten specimens.

The fracture strength was determined for each specimen, using a Computerized Materials Testing Machine (Test metric AX) by which mechanical loading on specimens was performed.

Results : Under the circumstances of this study, it was obvious that the In-Ceram® group had the highest value of fracture strength (524.4 MPa.), followed by Herculite™ Group (307.08 MPa.), Nulite F® Group (176.44MPa.), and Fibrespan® Group which scored the lowest value (110.84 MPa.).

A statistical analysis of the results using One-way ANOVA, and LSD tests revealed a highly significant level of difference between each of the four groups.

Conclusions.

All systems showed sufficient fracture strength to be used clinically for posterior inlay fabrication.