Examining Vicker Hardness and Wear Volume Minimization in Composite Resin with Different Filler Dimensions via Scanning Topography

Abstract

Aim: To compare the surface hardness of the nanohybrid resin composite with the other filler-containing resin composites. Material and Method: Abrasive wear properties of four types of resin composites: Harmonize (HM), Tetric N-Ceram (TNC), Filtek Z250 (Z250), and Filtek Z350 (Z350). Each composite had six 10 mm-diameter, 6 mm-thick cylindrical specimens for testing. The wear test involved subjecting the specimens to 800 cycles of abrasive wear under a 17 kg load. Surface hardness and weight loss were measured using a Vickers indenter micro-hardness tester after polishing. Surface morphology investigation was carried out using SEM on three specimens from each composite after the wear test. To identify significant differences in the wear characteristics of the resin composites, statistical analysis was conducted using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Tukey HSD test (with α = 0.05). Results: The highest volumetric wear loss was observed in the Z350 XT nano-filled resin composite (71.19±2.49 mm3). The lowest was found in Z250 micro hybrid restorative material (36.33±1.57 mm3). The highest Vickers hardness was found in the Z250 micro-hybrid restorative material (111.24±2.1). Moreover, the lowest microhardness was found in tetric N ceram (TNC) (58.41±1.22). Conclusion: The wear resistance of micro-hybrid resin composite Z250 was found to be superior to that of other composite resins tested in the study.