Especially the mechanical aspect is of major interest in dental restorative therapy. Mastication in the oral environment commonly leads to degradation of materials. Enamel and dentin present themselves as a highly tough substrate with a great resistance to tooth fracture. Nature thereby teaches us the principals of fracture toughness.
This talk will provide fundamentals of fracture toughness in enamel and dentin. It will further provide the background in fatigue and fracture resistance of restorative materials. The principals of toughening mechanisms and related factors will be discussed for resin composites and silica based ceramics in comparison to human hard tissues. This talk will also address the current clinical situation for resin composites compared to silica ceramics in the loaded molar region.