Composite resins, in various forms, affect us in our daily lives more than we may notice. To a chemist, a composite resin means a material, man-made, that consists of a resin matrix holding a large amount, by volume, of a particle material. If, for example, the composite is a resin holding a fine quartz particle, it would likely be used as a kitchen countertop (think brand names like Caesarstone or Stonite). It is very durable and is a competitor to pure granite. Other examples would show up in high impact applications like tool tips, hammer heads, golf clubs and highway paint. The common risk in all of these uses is heavy stress and heavy wear or breakage potential.
For these reasons, these materials work very well in dental applications, where teeth are exposed to daily stress and wear. The particle that’s used in our composites is zirconium, which is artificial diamond. The particle size is ultra-fine, measuring less than half a micrometer across. This allows for a very high polish. The zirconium component gives the restoration a very high wear resistance and beautiful light refraction.
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