PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the following problem: inorganic fillers are generally added to composite resins for increase in the mechanical strength and in the operability thereof specifically, inorganic fillers with a median diameter of less than 0.5 μm are added for increased operability, and inorganic filler with a median diameter in a range from 0.5 μm to 100 μm are added for increased mechanical strength which is brought by further increase in the filling rate with respect to the increase in the filling rate, inorganic fillers are surface-treated by a silane coupling agent to improve wettability, which results in the increase in the filling rate, further leading to increase in the elasticity modulus of the hardening body to thereby increase the mechanical strength however, the conventional silane coupling treatment is limited in the increase in the wettability, so that sufficient filling rate cannot be achieved, and thus the mechanical strength cannot be increased sufficiently.SOLUTION: A particulate inorganic filler is manufactured by a method comprising the steps of: (1) surface-treating inorganic particulates with a silane coupling agent and (2) suspending the inorganic particulates treated by the silane coupling agent in a water-containing organic solvent and adding an electrolyte to the suspended inorganic particulates. It is found that the thus manufactured particulate inorganic filler is highly dispersable in a dental curable composition composed of a radical polymerizable monomer, and that the particulate inorganic filler can be filled in the dental curable composition at a higher filling rate.SELECTED DRAWING: NoneCOPYRIGHT: (C)2017,JPO&INPIT【課題】一般的にコンポジットレジンには、無機充填剤が機械的強度や操作性向上の目的で添加される。無機充填剤の中で、メジアン径0.5μm未満の無機充填剤は主に操作性向上のために添加され、メジアン径0.5μmから100μmの無機充填剤は充填率のさらなる増加による機械的強度向上のために添加される。無機充填剤はシランカップリング剤により表面処理され、濡れ性の向上による充填率の増加が図られる。それに起因して硬化体の弾性率が増加し機械的強度が向上する。しかし、従来のシランカップリング処理では濡れ性の向上に限度があり、十分な充填率が達成出来ず機械的強度の向上が十分ではなかった。【解決手段】▲1▼無機微粒子をシランカップリング剤により表
