THE FEASIBILITY OF PROPERTY ENHANCEMENT OF HEAVILY FILLED DENTAL COMPOSITE SYSTEMS THROUGH MODIFICATIONS OF BOTH THE FILLER SYSTEM AND THE RESIN MATRIX WILL BE EVALUATED.

THE FEASIBILITY OF PROPERTY ENHANCEMENT OF HEAVILY FILLED DENTAL COMPOSITE SYSTEMS THROUGH MODIFICATIONS OF BOTH THE FILLER SYSTEM AND THE RESIN MATRIX WILL BE EVALUATED. NOVELFILLERS, WITH A PRIOR HISTORY OF SUCCESSFUL REINFORCEMENT INNONDENTAL POLYMERS DUE TO AN ADVANTAGEOUS ASPECT RATIO, WILLBE EMPLOYED ALONE OR IN CONJUNCTION WITH CONVENTIONAL SILICAREINFORCEMENT FILLERS AT LEVELS OF UP TO 75 W/O. A RESIN SYSTEM WITH A HIGHER DEGREE OF CONVERSION AND LOWER VISCOSITY THAN CONVENTIONAL BIS-GMA/DILUENT SYSTEMS WILL ALSO BE EXAMINED AS A MATRIX FOR THESE NOVEL FILLERS. MEASUREMENT OF STANDARD MECHANICAL PROPERTIES SUCH AS DIAMETRAL TENSION, COMPRESSION, AND HARDNESS, AS WELL AS MODULUS, MODULUS VERSUS TEMPERATURE, AND GLASS TEMPERATURES WILL BE DETERMINED. SUCCESSFUL PROTOTYPICAL SYSTEMS WILL THEN BE EVALUATED FOR ADAPTATION, FINISHING, MARGINAL LEAKAGE, LINEAR THERMAL EXPANSION, AND WATER SORPTION.