title: The evaluation of resin composite consistency.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate a method for the assessment of the consistency of unset resin composite.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fourteen commercial resin composites were selected, which had a range of consistencies as assessed subjectively. The material was placed in a cylindrical mold with 8 mm diameter and 8 mm depth, and a glass rod with 4.37 mm diameter driven into the composite at 24.4 mm min-1 for 6 s, i.e., to a depth of 2.44 mm. The maximum force reached during the 6 s period was recorded, and used as a measure of consistency.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Consistency values ranged from 0.33 N to 31.3 N, with the highest values being found for some of the recently introduced 'packable' materials. The reliability of the test was high.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The test may be useful as a standard method of assessing resin composite consistency.
authors.affiliation: School of Dental Science, University of Melbourne, Australia. m.tyas@dent.unimelb.edu.au
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Tyas
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Rizkalla
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003188:Composite Resins / Q000737:chemistry*; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods*; D008963:Molar; D010316:Particle Size; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D003188:Composite Resins