A18    The terms creep and flow are often used in dentistry. Identify similarities as well as differences between these two terms.

Creep and flow are used to describe plastic deformation. The term flow in dentistry is often used to describe the ability to deform plastically during processing, while creep measures the plastic deformation after the material has set.

Flow of amalgam is measured after a certain time from completed trituration. A cylindrical amalgam sample of a certain size is loaded with a certain load over a certain time. The change in length in relationship to the original length is measured and recorded as the flow property of the amalgam.

Creep of an amalgam is measured in the same way as the flow property. The only difference is that the amalgam has set for one week when the creep measurements are conducted.