Configuration factor - wikipedia Configuration factor This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( March 2013 ) In dentistry, the configuration factor was first introduced by Davidson CL, 1986, and later quantitavly extended Feilzer et al. in 1987 and refers to the number of bonded surfaces to the number of un-bonded surfaces in a dental restoration. For example, for a class I preparation there would be 5 bonded surfaces and only 1 un-bonded surface ; the net result would be a c - factor of 5. With an increasing C factor the developing curing contraction stresses of bonded restorations ( resin composites ) increases too ( Feilzer et al. 1987 ). The developing curing contraction in a bonded restoration generate stress on the bonded interface that are in competition with the developing bond strength of the setting restorative to the cavity surfaces, which may result in ( partial ) debonding, marginal leakage and post-operative pain ( Davidson et al. 1984 ). Internal stress can be reduced in a restoration subject to potentially reduce high disruptive contraction forces by using : `` soft - start '' polymerization instead of high - intensity light curing incremental layering to reduce the effects of polymerization shrinkage ; and a stress - breaking liner, such as filled adhesive, flowable composite, or resin - modified glass ionomers the application of non or low shrinking restorative materials References Roberson, Theodore ; Haymann, Harold ; Swift, Edward ( 2002 ), Sturdevant 's Art and science of Operative Dentistry, St. Louis, Missouri : Mosby Feilzer, Albert J ; de Gee, Anton J ; Davidon, Carel L ( Nov 1987 ), `` Setting stress in composite resin in relation to configuration of the restoration. '', J Dent Res, 66 ( 11 ) : 1636 -- 9 Davidson, Carel L ; de Gee, Anton J ; Feilzer, Albert J ( Dec 1984 ), `` The competition between the composite - dentin bond strength and the polymerization contraction stress '', J Dent Res, 63 ( 12 ) : 1396 -- 9 Davidson, Carel L ( 1986 ), `` Resisting the curing contraction with adhesive composites '', J Prosthet Dent, 55 ( 4 ) : 446 -- 44 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Configuration_factor&oldid=861733054 '' Categories : Dentistry Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from March 2013 All articles needing additional references Talk About Wikipedia Español Edit links This page was last edited on 29 September 2018, at 16 : 33 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: c-factor (configuration factor) is defined as the ratio of
Answer: the number of bonded surfaces to the number of un-bonded surfaces in a dental restoration