Modeling the elastic constants & toughness of dental restorative composites

Although dental amalgam continues to be the most widely used posterior restorative material, the preferred material based on aesthetic considerations is the polymer-based dental composite. Fracture and wear failure are among the most frequent reasons for replacing composite restorations in permanent teeth. Thus in order to improve the properties and behavior of posterior dental composites, we have to make efforts toward creating additional toughening mechanisms. One method for achieving this goal is to investigate the stress distribution around the filler/matrix interface or interphase by varying parameters such as the volume fraction of filler, the particle size and the modulus of the filler