Dynamic creep of dental amalgam as a function of stress and number of applied stress cycles.

Dynamic creep tests on specimens of dental amalgam gave a relationship between creep (epsilon), applied dynamic stress (sigma), and number of applied stress cycles (N) as epsilon = AN (m sigma + c) where A, m, and c are constants. This equation can be used to predict creep of amalgam at low levels of stress and extended times. The pattern of results produced for different types of amalgam indicates that the creep process is multifactorial in nature.